Fallible Research

In a recent survey, one in seven scientists admitted that their colleagues have faked data in their research and that three-fourths have committed “questionable research practices.” The results, published in PLoS One, also showed that up to one-third of scientists admit “failing to present data that contradict one’s own previous research.”^* While not all scientists fall in this category, even the most careful and honest have biases and presuppositions that can influence how they see evidence.

More disconcerting is fabricated research, whether it’s the Piltdown man fraud (exposed as a hoax in 1953) or a Korean scientist who fabricated a widely publicized breakthrough in the production of embryonic stem cells (published in Science in 2004 and exposed in 2005).

While scientists are fallible like anyone else, research would vastly improve if it were built on biblical ethics and the truths of God’s infallible Word.

^*http://www.physorg.com/news162795064.html