[extropy-chat] Doubt and About

[Robin Hanson]

On 12/10/2003 Harvey Newstrom wrote:
> >>University studies
> >>are supported by specific corporations now.  Discoveries are
> >>proprietary and patented instead of peer-reviewed.  More
> >>money is spent on lawyers to prevent flaws from being exposed
> >>rather than confirmation studies being performed.
> >
> > These are not about fake versus real experts.
>
>Real experts can take peer review and criticism to refine real theories.
>Only fake experts need to avoid peer review and use lawyers to stop people
>from pointing out their flaws.

Just because someone patents an idea, or keeps it secret, doesn't mean
that they don't know anything!!  And lots of people who know things try to
discourage criticism.  You can know things and dislike peer review.

>in the early days of computer research, we didn't have the problem with
>vaporware, bogus claims, fraudulent products,...

I thought in the early years IBM was known to have announced product dates
they knew they could not deliver on, to discourage people from going to
competitors.

> > And areas that used to be overrun are now left more alone. Which areas
> > are of wider interest changes over time.
>
>Can you name an area that used to have this problem and now does not?  I do
>not know of any politically charged area or area of pseudoscience that has
>been abandoned by the politicians and quacks.

Few people defend the Soviet socialist model these days; it used to be
politically charged, but now people have given up.

> > >Doctors used to make medical
> > >decisions, now non-medical professionals in HMOs do.
> >
> > But this isn't a matter of fake experts.  The HMO people are typically
> > expert enough for the decisions they make.
>
>I disagree.  HMO accountants are NOT more qualified than my doctor to treat
>me!

But HMO accountants do not treat you.  They decide what the insurance
company will pay for.  And they are usually qualified to make those decisions.


Robin Hanson  rhanson at gmu.edu  http://hanson.gmu.edu
Assistant Professor of Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030-4444
703-993-2326  FAX: 703-993-2323