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I started a PhD believing that scientists still held on to the habit of truth. The gradual realization that modern science rewards bullshit artists, and that great research happens in spite, not because of today's science culture, is one of the most bitter disappointments of my life. I feel robbed of one of the main reasons to be proud of being human.

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I think your account is a common one, unfortunately. I’m at the age where many of my peers are in grad school in a variety of disciplines, and while I’m not proud of my disillusionment, it scares me on behalf of them when the conversation reveals that their expectations aren’t matching the reality. I wish they knew what they were getting in to.

This is also why we can’t let science evolve into a religion, for what it’s worth. It can’t be the core of human spirituality: it’s too human of an institution.

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