this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2025
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thanks for making me aware of scientism. I am a little unsure how it applies here through.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A facet of Scientism, as I understand it, is a sort of hero worship of "Great" scientists. Part of this is because it's easier for us to build a narrative of history if we focus on key figure, but that's antithetical to how science actually works. It neglects the importance of the wider scientific "ecosystem", which includes mechanisms of peer review, academic teaching and learning etc.

I've known people who were pretty prominent academics, who got some of their best ideas from random places, like hanging out in a bar with academics from outside their field. But a good idea on its own matters very little: science, in practice, works on a foundation of trust and community, and basically any research has an entire team of people behind it.

I have no doubt that the scientist mentioned in the headline is exceptional at her job, but by presenting her as the scientist who is working on this presents an inaccurate perspective of how these things actually work. I see why the headline chose to present her as more essential than she likely is, but as it seems to for the person you're replying to, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Thanks for taking the time to explain this. Quality replies are much appreciated! I think that narrative, as you put it, is generally a good thing as it helps us to remember information and make sense of the world. I work in research so I didn't think twice about the distinction between the and a scientists. Not so sure that scientism is in my top 10 problems list, but it it is still good to be aware of such biases.