What is the Scientific Establishment?



The scientific establishment made up of mainstream scientific institutions and those that run them.The individuals that run these institutions control many aspects of main stream science. This control gives them the ability to limit research and distribution of material they don’t like. The scientific establishment includes those who control publishing, employment, research grants, research facilities and education.

This is not some deep dark conspiratorial but just people protecting their power and world view but the result is the same. This actually happens to some degree in all fields of human endeavor such as science, religion, politics, business, and education. Those on the inside try to keep out those on the out side that disagree with those on the inside. It is a natural result of human nature.

What is The Scientific Establishment

The scientific establishment is all of the mainstream scientific institutions and  those that run these institutions. These positions give them control over many aspects of main stream science making it possible for them to limit research and distribution of material they don’t like. These positions include those with control over publishing, employment, research grants, research facilities and education.

This control can and does hamper innovation by keeping concepts down that are outside the ruling paradigm.

This not only includes Creation Science and Intelligent Design but alternative totally naturalistic concepts as well. There are areas where progress occurs only because older influential scientists die and are replaced by younger more receptive scientists. It has been said that scientific progress occurs one funeral at a time.

This is not necessarily conspiratorial but is most likely just people protecting their power and world view. However the result is the same. This actually happens in all fields of human endeavor such as science, religion, politics, business, and education. It is a result of human nature.

Science and Politics

When ever science and politics interact science is more often than not the looser. This does not mean that all interactions between science and government are negative but the overall affect on science is negative.

The Reason for this is that politics is about acquiring and holding on to power and not knowledge. In fact politics often is destructive to knowledge since ignorant people are easier to control. Further more politicians are often not really interested is the science but sending money to their districts. The biggest example of this is manned space flight which has stagnated for 30 years under government control.

Even worst government often favors some lines of research over others in funding, education, and recognition. Some times government favors one side in a scientific dispute over others. The best examples are in origins research and climate research.

Government can block lines of research from being perused. Now sometimes this legitimate such as preventing dangerous experimenting on humans, but other times it’s pandering to irrational fears such as those against nuclear power is a good example simply because some people can’t separate reactors from bombs. Giving in to this fear has hampered the development of nuclear power.

Government can hide lines of research which often happens with research conducted by the military. The reason given for this is national security and some time it  is legitimate but other times it’s just an excuse.

 The worst examples of these are climate research and origins research because politics has played a major anti-scientific role in both areas.

In climate research global warming has been favored by progressive politicians who see it an excuse for increased government control. They have backed and promoted pro global warming claims over data to the contrary despite emails showing the hiding of climate data contrary to Global warming. This issue has become so politicized that finding the truth is hard because it is almost impossible to find an objective source on the topic.

 In origins research only evolutionary research funded the government. Both Intelligent design and Creation Science gets no government funding, but they are forced to fund evolutionary research with their taxes. Intelligent design and Creation Science have been kept out of public schools on the claim that they are not science this has even been done by law suits. There is nothing more grossly anti-scientific than bringing law suits to settle scientific issues by having a judge (lawyer) decree the opposing views are not science. Regardless of your view on origins, this should disturb you.

 Science should NOT be determined by judicial decree such actions are fundamentally opposed to the entire idea of science as a pursuit of knowledge.