Comments on: The Value of Null Findings http://www.newclarion.com/2009/08/the-value-of-null-findings/ Our mission is to combat the unreason and selflessness that are sweeping our culture from the nihilist left to the religious right, and to sound a new ideal of capitalism and individual rights in American politics. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:04:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Mike N http://www.newclarion.com/2009/08/the-value-of-null-findings/#comment-7649 Mike N Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:33:07 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/?p=1431#comment-7649 Salika: Mr. Brook is right. The sad state of today's schools is such that education per se, teaching children how to think, is not happening. Teachers who themselves don't know how to think cannot pass along to students a knowledge they don't possess. That is why sirs Brook and Peikoff have both said that the most critical need today is for a rational education. Salika:
Mr. Brook is right. The sad state of today’s schools is such that education per se, teaching children how to think, is not happening. Teachers who themselves don’t know how to think cannot pass along to students a knowledge they don’t possess. That is why sirs Brook and Peikoff have both said that the most critical need today is for a rational education.

]]> By: salika_l http://www.newclarion.com/2009/08/the-value-of-null-findings/#comment-7648 salika_l Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:23:14 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/?p=1431#comment-7648 Yaron Brooks says a big problem is that children are no longer taught science in school. Instead they are fed environmentalist propaganda in science classes. They wouldn’t know good science from bad, but they know they’re supposed to agree with environmentalism. Yaron Brooks says a big problem is that children are no longer taught science in school. Instead they are fed environmentalist propaganda in science classes. They wouldn’t know good science from bad, but they know they’re supposed to agree with environmentalism.

]]> By: Mike N http://www.newclarion.com/2009/08/the-value-of-null-findings/#comment-5282 Mike N Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:42:49 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/?p=1431#comment-5282 Myrhaf: Mr. Brook is right. Science is not taught in any kind of historical context so the kids don't get to see how the scientists of the past arrived at their discoveries. The poor kids are never introduced to scientific methodology. Some teachers even believe that successful scientists just got lucky. Mike: "Even at the university level, who will maintain grant funding by publishing a report saying that all such-and-such costly research show that nothing is happening?" This is proof that the granting agencies whether universities, NGOs or government bodies like the NIH or EPA etc. are not interested in the truth but are looking for a problem of some kind that will allow them to justify their existence by claiming the need to solve it. It also demonstrates once again that: "Government encouragement does not order men to believe that the false is true, it merely makes them indifferent to the issue of truth and falsehood." Ayn Rand in her essay Establishing of an Establishment. Thanks for your experienced comment, and I agree that this issue needs more attention. I plan to post on it again. Myrhaf:
Mr. Brook is right. Science is not taught in any kind of historical context so the kids don’t get to see how the scientists of the past arrived at their discoveries. The poor kids are never introduced to scientific methodology. Some teachers even believe that successful scientists just got lucky.

Mike:
“Even at the university level, who will maintain grant funding by publishing a report saying that all such-and-such costly research show that nothing is happening?”

This is proof that the granting agencies whether universities, NGOs or government bodies like the NIH or EPA etc. are not interested in the truth but are looking for a problem of some kind that will allow them to justify their existence by claiming the need to solve it. It also demonstrates once again that: “Government encouragement does not order men to believe that the false is true, it merely makes them indifferent to the issue of truth and falsehood.” Ayn Rand in her essay Establishing of an Establishment.

Thanks for your experienced comment, and I agree that this issue needs more attention. I plan to post on it again.

]]> By: Mike http://www.newclarion.com/2009/08/the-value-of-null-findings/#comment-5275 Mike Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:50:41 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/?p=1431#comment-5275 This is a bigger deal than I think your article is crediting it for being. I was educated in a fairly science-respecting fashion (private school, taught that consensus is meaningless in comparison to replicatable experiment, etc) and they barely touched upon the concept of null findings. Even at the university level, who will maintain grant funding by publishing a report saying that all such-and-such costly research show that nothing is happening? In the field of law, there is ample precedent and no raised eyebrows when a judge recuses from a case or a lawyer cites a conflict of interest and withdraws from representation. These are cases of professionals doing their job properly by NOT proceeding into developmental work on a case (or the evaluation of a case by trial). A scientist who did this might well find themselves at an empty spigot on payday and on the outside looking in with regard to scholarly publication. Excellent post. Thank you for raising this issue and the "refresher course" you coupled with it. This is a bigger deal than I think your article is crediting it for being. I was educated in a fairly science-respecting fashion (private school, taught that consensus is meaningless in comparison to replicatable experiment, etc) and they barely touched upon the concept of null findings. Even at the university level, who will maintain grant funding by publishing a report saying that all such-and-such costly research show that nothing is happening?

In the field of law, there is ample precedent and no raised eyebrows when a judge recuses from a case or a lawyer cites a conflict of interest and withdraws from representation. These are cases of professionals doing their job properly by NOT proceeding into developmental work on a case (or the evaluation of a case by trial). A scientist who did this might well find themselves at an empty spigot on payday and on the outside looking in with regard to scholarly publication.

Excellent post. Thank you for raising this issue and the “refresher course” you coupled with it.

]]> By: Myrhaf http://www.newclarion.com/2009/08/the-value-of-null-findings/#comment-5270 Myrhaf Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:25:58 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/?p=1431#comment-5270 Yaron Brooks says a big problem is that children are no longer taught science in school. Instead they are fed environmentalist propaganda in science classes. They wouldn't know good science from bad, but they know they're supposed to agree with environmentalism. Yaron Brooks says a big problem is that children are no longer taught science in school. Instead they are fed environmentalist propaganda in science classes. They wouldn’t know good science from bad, but they know they’re supposed to agree with environmentalism.

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