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The problem is that over-promising and under-delivering, when combined with many documented cases of fraud, can be fatal to a field. After enough of this, the field may get a stink on it that never washes off. Ask the cold fusion people.

The field needs to get better about catching fraudsters, and start delivering results. Otherwise it will be defunded, no matter how eloquent people are. This may not be "fair" but it is the reality.

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Got to pay someone to do the catching. We all do these reviews for nothing! Manuscript peer-reviews, and yes, even the major NIH study sections that review numerous grants every submission cycle.

I agree that the toothpaste is out of the tube here. But do the mods have to fix the reddit community? If HN gets out of hand, is that dang's fault?

For most of us it's a thankless job full of many uncompensated and thankless tasks, but we do it for any number of reasons. Most academic scientists I meet are capable and (mostly) driven by a desire to uncover knowledge.

Yes, these are good questions. I don't know how to fix it. But I do worry that if it isn't fixed, it may kill the field.

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