[analog31]

As a scientist, I've worked with data for decades. There's always been a prevailing belief that scientists and engineers with specialized domain knowledge are mostly fumbling in the dark and can be replaced with a general purpose technique.

This was certainly the vibe that I got from "design of experiments" when it was the statistical method du jour. Then from "Bayesian everything" and now "data science." I remember "design of experiments" studies being conducted with great fanfare and success theater, while producing zero results.

The long term theme is that science is hard for reasons that managers don't understand, can't manage, and are reluctant to reward.