Friday, July 10, 2015

"much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue."

"The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness."

     Richard Horton, the Editor of The Lancet, on a "symposium . . . on the reproducibility and reliability of biomedical research . . . held at the Wellcome Trust in London" the week previous.  "Offline:  What is medicine's 5 sigma?"  The Lancet 385, no. 9976 (April 11-17, 2015):  1380.

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