Item — HN Reader

First of all, they acknowledged the conflict of interest.

Are you suggesting, based on zero evidence, that their findings were somehow fabricated - a claim that if true would ruin the careers and lives of the scientists at hand?

While not unthinkable, it is a type of conspiracy theory thought. Should you have a problem with their methods, data acquisition, etc etc. then it would be a completely different story, but to dismiss something based on some sort of belief is very unscientific.

2 comments

> Are you suggesting, based on zero evidence, that their findings were somehow fabricated - a claim that if true would ruin the careers and lives of the scientists at hand?

It's usually more that if a researcher is trying to research something they really want to believe, it is extremely difficult to stay objective. Subconsciously, they can easily miss or overlook things that appear insignificant at first glance, but are actually very important.

Making note that there's a conflict of interest is very important, and when there is one, it's not unreasonable to wait for the experiment to be reproduced before really believing it.

I'm not arguing the science. It may be 100% correct. My issue the fact that a corporation with a very big upside is funding the research. That's all.

Think about it.

You'll have to do better than "think about it" if you want your reasons to make sense outside of your own head.

It's okay. I understand common sense isn't so common...