After I talked about the inefficiencies of science at my lab meeting, one of my PhD students drew my attention to an extremely thought provoking article in The Atlantic.  I think for SiOW next year I will do more in this area.  I didn’t even get into the lessons of bad or absence science in medicine for the life decisions of individual SiOW graduates.  There are so many hooks here.  Not least, the way I can use this to teach the human frailty of science, the problems of public perception, and why faith healers flourish.

I also love the quotes at the end of the article.  Especially:  

“The scientific enterprise is probably the most fantastic achievement in human history, but that doesn’t mean we have a right to overstate what we’re accomplishing”.

and

“Science is a noble endeavor, but its also a low-yield endeavor.”  Amen.