Institutions and public life
Cargo Cult Science
A scientist’s warning that the appearance of rigor is worthless without a sincere effort to discover how one may be wrong.
sciencehonestyevidence
Before reading
Why this essay
Feynman’s target is not only pseudoscience. It is any practice that copies the outward form of inquiry while quietly protecting its conclusions from a fair test.
The address remains useful because it turns institutional criticism inward. The first obligation is not to expose someone else’s error but to report the evidence that could weaken your own case.
Carry with you
Two questions
- What evidence would you disclose if your goal were to help someone disprove you?
- Where does your field reward the appearance of rigor more reliably than the substance?