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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @xz 18 Jul \ on: Are China’s universities really the best in the world? science
I don't much much trust in Nature's independence since The Proximal Origins .. fiasco.
Thanks for the reference. Does this article make justice to what you are alluding to?
Indeed, i still remember reading that initial article, strongly shaping my view about the fact it was unlikely to be lab made. It was comforting in a sense as i did not want China to become the scapegoat of it all.
I was pissed as i learnt that in the end it was very likely a lab escape from research funded by the US research agencies. With Fauci putting back trust in scientific research and its institutions back to the way it was in medieval times.
But yeah, i still want to believe not all editors or referees have an agenda when deciding what to publish. It's anyhow better than flat out rejecting anything coming from the sciences. Just need to be extra cautious and critical.
I don't give much credence to rankings. Some of my most meaningful research was done in badly ranked universities.
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Pretty much agree with what you said.
Yes, I guess the article does, thanks for sharing it. I'm neither from a science background nor any kind of investigative journalist, so it's probably all above my pay grade. However, in an attempt to answer: Do these kinds of rankings matter? I'd say only to the extent that rankings beget funding and serves as PR.
As you say, it's better than flat out rejecting science, and I do agree with that. But it's not a dichotomy of any sort that we need to do that, nor do we need to throw our entire (pre and post electron microscopic) epistemological framework out of the window. I feel that what I have seen come out of (more) authoritarian states lately, is the inculcation of scientific progress, and this is questionable. My skepticism is more related to nuance within the application of science (as opposed to experimental.) What some in the more philosophical fields see as overspecialization, at an expense of rejecting a more general overview of how nature itself works (and the need for it to be applied.)
What did the late General Mao say, something akin to (political) power comes from the barrel of gun? Well, obviously this may be true but ~70 years on, I'd posit that power also comes from consistent messaging that the pursuit of scientific knowledge and rationalization of irrational objectives is the end all be all of life. I feel we see this very strongly in pharmacology today, in that, when it becomes a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Sorry, I probably went on a tangent. Obviously P.R.China, is very much on the cutting edge with regard to many scientific areas. and I agree that the publications such as Nature tend to skew these rankings (according to their major sponsors' wishes)? As @SimpleStacker pointed out scientific prowess is becoming increasingly co-opted for economic and political advantage. As with regard to Harvard, I find that a private institution, asking for public finding is entirely unethical.
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