ya know... i wonder if this is how a religion is formed. at the start, science was about identifying and explaining the things that were true, observable, and agreed upon by all. anyone who was present at the birth of an event that caused a religion would have had that same mentality. over time, generations pass and the concept that held the group together has shifted - it now attempts to explain new concepts, and the scientists/priests that make up the governing body decide tge truth based on opinion, rather than fact.
the point is, we're on a dangerous path. if left unchecked, the term scientist will eventually have the same meaning as the word priest.
Not at all. Research that appears useful is going to be picked up by others, and if it's really a fraud it will be exposed eventually.
That is the check you are looking for and indeed how we realized there's some fraud and reproducibility issues, btw. I'll be waiting for the day actual religions gets the same level of scrutiny.
> if left unchecked, the term scientist will eventually have the same meaning as the word priest.
Except if you base things like planes, computers, or medicine on science they provably work.
Obviously it's not perfect and probably never will be as science is a human endeavour and humans are not perfect. But dismissing all of it as "just a religion" fundamentally misunderstands both science and religion.
Religion - cargo cult et al. It is quite clear that religions arose from tribalism to aggregate tribes into pan religious groups. They are de-facto control mechanisms = toe the line = give us your $$ = fight/kill as ordered.
the point is, we're on a dangerous path. if left unchecked, the term scientist will eventually have the same meaning as the word priest.