I’m somewhat less forgiving about their casual approach to epistemology and their vulnerability to cargo cult science, as long as it is peer reviewed cargo cult science.
RatWiki operates as a mobocracy. Anyone who challenges the mob’s assumptions about “science,” which, for them, means “whatever we, the rational people, believe,” is non grata. Yes, cargo cult science. In the example I most know about, the assumptions aren’t “peer reviewed,” the SPOV firmly enforced on RatWiki hasn’t shown up under peer review for almost a decade, while the contrary has been—in the journals—mainstreamed. But they don’t know that, and won’t read sources and arguments based on sources. Tl;dr. And if one is brief, it’s still, “Crank, go away, shut up.”*
My conclusions from about eight months of activity there. My main interest is wiki structure, or I wouldn’t have bothered.
Yeah, what I wrote is so about cold fusion, but I’m totally new to LW, am a bit in awe at the level of discourse here, and don’t want to import a dispute from there to here. I’m happy to have found LW because of Gerard’s comments on RatWiki.
RatWiki operates as a mobocracy. Anyone who challenges the mob’s assumptions about “science,” which, for them, means “whatever we, the rational people, believe,” is non grata. Yes, cargo cult science. In the example I most know about, the assumptions aren’t “peer reviewed,” the SPOV firmly enforced on RatWiki hasn’t shown up under peer review for almost a decade, while the contrary has been—in the journals—mainstreamed. But they don’t know that, and won’t read sources and arguments based on sources. Tl;dr. And if one is brief, it’s still, “Crank, go away, shut up.”*
My conclusions from about eight months of activity there. My main interest is wiki structure, or I wouldn’t have bothered.
The above post is speaking of the reception to Abd’s edits concerning cold fusion.
Yeah, what I wrote is so about cold fusion, but I’m totally new to LW, am a bit in awe at the level of discourse here, and don’t want to import a dispute from there to here. I’m happy to have found LW because of Gerard’s comments on RatWiki.