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by gjkood
3719 days ago
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I am just suggesting that both politicians and scientists may need to do things that they may despise to get what they want. Politicians may need to kiss babies to get elected and scientists may need to kiss politicians (metaphorically) to get funding :). Isn't the ability to "play politics" a significant factor in rising up a hierarchy (scientific or otherwise)? |
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"I would like to add something that’s not essential to the science, but something I kind of believe, which is that you should not fool the layman when you’re talking as a scientist. I’m not trying to tell you what to do about cheating on your wife, or fooling your girlfriend, or something like that, when you’re not trying to be a scientist, but just trying to be an ordinary human being. We’ll leave those problems up to you and your rabbi. I’m talking about a specific, extra type of integrity that is not lying, but bending over backwards to show how you’re maybe wrong, that you ought to do when acting as a scientist. And this is our responsibility as scientists, certainly to other scientists, and I think to laymen....
So I wish to you—I have no more time, so I have just one wish for you—the good luck to be somewhere where you are free to maintain the kind of integrity I have described, and where you do not feel forced by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support, or so on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom."
After quitting traditional academic science, so far I have found that I haven't had to compromise my integrity in the pursuit of science. It hasn't been easy, but I am happy with where I am, so far.