Fraud in Science: Liar! Liar!
Economist – Jun 4, 2009
Scientists are not quite as honest as might be hoped.
[Daniele Fanelli of the University of Edinburgh conducted a meta-analysis of surveys of scientific honesty, published in the Public Library of Science, and reported that] About 10% confessed to questionable practices, such as “dropping data points based on a gut feeling” or “failing to present data that contradict one’s previous research”—though this figure was just a straight average of the underlying studies, since the relevant parts of the underlying studies were too disparate to run through the meta-analysis.
Moreover, when it came to airing suspicions about colleagues, the numbers went up. The meta-analysis suggested that 14% of researchers in the underlying studies had seen their colleagues fabricate, falsify, alter or modify data. If the question was posed in more general terms, such as running experiments with deficient methods, failing to report deficiencies or misrepresenting data, the straight average suggested that 46% of researchers had seen others get up to such shenanigans. In only half of the cases, though, had the respondent to a survey tried to do anything about the misconduct he said he had witnessed. Go to story
Bluffing scientists and political exploitation of science cheating the people
DR. SINGH: Srila Prabhupada, what you say about modern scientists is quite accurate, Even though they know they have imperfect senses, make mistakes, and become illusioned, most are still eager to present themselves as big authorities and take big salaries. Dishonesty. And worse, they teach this dishonesty to their students.
PRABHUPADA: Yes.
DR. SINGH: Millions of students. The students see, “Oh, even though this man has imperfect senses and makes mistakes and becomes illusioned, he still passes himself off as an exalted authority and gets away with the bluff. He makes his living by bluffing. So it appears I’ll have to bluff, also. The ‘scientific method.'”
PRABHUPADA: Yes. Naturally the scientists spread the bluffing, the cheating. They understand that to be successful in their dishonesty, everyone else must become dishonest.
“Life evolves from matter,” the scientists teach us. No need to mention the soul or the Supreme Soul, the creator. “That would be religious sentimentalism—unprovable. We must adhere to our scientific method—everything provable.” But has anyone proved—ever—that life can come from matter? These scientists cannot create even a single blade of grass. And yet we have to tolerate their “life-evolves-from-matter” rubbish. This godless, irrational bluff. This dishonesty.
So save all these millions of students. If you can prove that these so-called scientists are actually dishonest—cheaters—that will be a very great service.
DR. SINGH: Yes, we can prove all these things in scientific journals such as Scientific American.
PRABHUPADA: Surely. During my college days, in 1916 or 1917, Calcutta University had an issue of Scientific American with a very memorable drawing. It showed that, ironically, modern man knows how to construct huge skyscrapers—but he does not know who he is. Modern man has no knowledge of his soul. So here was this man expertly constructing the intricate iron framework of some skyscraper. And yet he was utterly unaware of his very self. Unaware that he himself is the spiritual resident within the framework of the material body. He was mistaking himself to be the bodily framework, just as foolishly as if he had mistaken himself to be the skyscraper. The drawing was thoughtful. The idea was that this man did not know who he was or what would happen in his next life. Nothing.
Mudho ‘yam nabhijanati loko mam ajam avyayam: as Lord Krishna says, the foolish know neither the Lord’s superior, spiritual nature nor their own, original place in that spiritual nature.
In this priceless human life, the soul can regain his place in the spiritual world—his eternal inheritance. Instead, he engages in flimsy, transitory activities, materialistic activities that will force him to stay in this material world for life after life of suffering. So he is losing his priceless opportunity to become eternally liberated.
Therefore, we have to save the bewildered soul. These materialistic activities—constantly striving after mundane profit, adoration, and distinction—these are not important. The important thing is to know yourself. Before you are forced to leave your present material body and accept another, come to know yourself and the Lord—so that when that death moment comes, He will deliver you from more material bodies and more suffering. Prepare yourself, so that He will take you back to His eternal, spiritual abode.
But today people are misled. They are captivated by these huge iron structures. Such foolishness. At the time of death, how will this iron structure help you? It will remain—but you will be dragged into your next life, and your next material body, for more suffering.
According to the subtle situation you have created in this life—according to the state of your mind, intelligence, and ego—in your next life you will have to accept a corresponding gross situation. A new gross body—an all-new body, with all-new varieties of suffering. You are lost.
DR. SINGH: Here in India, at least, most people have held on to this spiritual perspective. They’re not so easily fooled by so-called. advanced thinking. Here, even scientists tend to be God conscious.
PRABHUPADA: Yes. Anyone who receives a birth in India—he gets this chance to live in the motherland of spiritual culture because in his prior life, he pursued spiritual culture. Virtually everyone in India is God conscious.
DR. SINGH: Yes—including even many of the scientists. But the government here criticizes the scientists for putting so much stock in God and spiritual culture.
In fact, the government even sponsored some kind of International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life from Chemicals. The government wants to keep pushing this rubbish about all of us merely “evolving” from dead matter, with no need for a creator.
PRABHUPADA: Oh, yes. Dishonesty, including scientific dishonesty, originates from the government. The government leaders are trying to discourage people from becoming God conscious.
DR. SINGH: Yes, they are very discouraging.
PRABHUPADA: Today the government leaders are generally big industrialists as well. So of course they are worrying: “If people become God conscious, they will go back to the simple life of farms and villages, with no need for heavy industry. Then whom shall we get to work in our factories? This God consciousness will ruin all our industrial enterprises.
“In place of God consciousness, we shall maintain an elite of scientists to promote ‘the scientific method’: Forget God. Better not discuss God and the soul. Let us simply absorb ourselves in matter.”
A dangerous government. It is the duty of the government to help people become God conscious and spiritually realized. Instead, they are fostering the opposite atmosphere: “Forget God. Forget your soul. Work like hell. And go to hell.”
