Ego Depletion: Accepted Theory in Trouble
This story from Slate was cited by Retraction Watch (http://retractionwatch.com/).
It is not that "all these pseudo-scientists on government money are frauds." For one thing, the original research was carried out at Case Western Reserve University, a private school, in fact, the "Patrick Henry University" of Atlas Shrugged. Rather, it speaks to the sociology of science. Science, no less than religion, sports, or business, is an artifact of human society. It is subject the same kinds of personal failings that are the equal and opposite of heroic achievements.
Identifying these failures is integral to the process, no different than a business dropping an unprofitable product. That product had champions who cited research before being able to show at least some market response. We all carry smart phones now, but how many failed PDAs (personal digital assistants) can you name from the 1990s?
Ego depletion may be real: it seems intuitively obvious that we can get worn down. Quantifying that may be intractable with our current paradigms. Objectivism might suggest a more robust psycho-epistemological model.
For the fifth year in a row, I judged our regional science fairs for senior high, junior high, and elementary schools. My area is Behavioral and Social Science. Across all of the categories in the Intel International, we always give the highest ratings to "original research." We never reward replication studies.
When I lived in Michigan and my wife worked at the U of M (Flint), I delivered two "Super Science Friday" sessions to middle schoolers. The second year, my theme was "CSI: Flint." Centered on junk science in the courtroom and police laboratory misconduct, I suggested to the kids that anyone with a head for science who wants to go into police work should consider working for an office of research integrity. Every major university has one. The federal government has several because they fund so much research. I have never heard of such a thing in the private sector.
Here is the original Slate article
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_...
It is not that "all these pseudo-scientists on government money are frauds." For one thing, the original research was carried out at Case Western Reserve University, a private school, in fact, the "Patrick Henry University" of Atlas Shrugged. Rather, it speaks to the sociology of science. Science, no less than religion, sports, or business, is an artifact of human society. It is subject the same kinds of personal failings that are the equal and opposite of heroic achievements.
Identifying these failures is integral to the process, no different than a business dropping an unprofitable product. That product had champions who cited research before being able to show at least some market response. We all carry smart phones now, but how many failed PDAs (personal digital assistants) can you name from the 1990s?
Ego depletion may be real: it seems intuitively obvious that we can get worn down. Quantifying that may be intractable with our current paradigms. Objectivism might suggest a more robust psycho-epistemological model.
For the fifth year in a row, I judged our regional science fairs for senior high, junior high, and elementary schools. My area is Behavioral and Social Science. Across all of the categories in the Intel International, we always give the highest ratings to "original research." We never reward replication studies.
When I lived in Michigan and my wife worked at the U of M (Flint), I delivered two "Super Science Friday" sessions to middle schoolers. The second year, my theme was "CSI: Flint." Centered on junk science in the courtroom and police laboratory misconduct, I suggested to the kids that anyone with a head for science who wants to go into police work should consider working for an office of research integrity. Every major university has one. The federal government has several because they fund so much research. I have never heard of such a thing in the private sector.
Here is the original Slate article
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_...