A note on science

I was recently exposed to a thought I had never had before. The thought goes — we are exposed all the time to the output of scientists. They are authorities on many things, and there is the widespread view they are the only authority. But really you should think of them not as scientists, but as scientific employees. Most, nearly all really, scientists are employed by somebody. There is an excellent chance that the science they put forth is in the service of their employer. Perhaps a corporation, the government, or a foundation. Their claims might be true, but even if you’re not a scientist, but especially if you are a scientist, you need to consider the evidence for the claim made, rather than merely the authority for it, which probably just amounts to whatever the interest of the scientists’ employer is, or at least is shaped or spun by that authority. If you can’t consider the evidence because it’s so inherently complicated or murky, you’ll probably just have to wait until it becomes clear over time, or quite possibly, does not. This little tweak in how I think about scientists has improved my outlook on the world.