• Chetzemoka@startrek.website
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    1 year ago

    I’m very aware of the history of race science. Tell me what that has to do with physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, and exactly why we should “require many barriers to science” today because the already thoroughly refuted race science existed? Because that is what the other commenter stated.

    • usernamesaredifficul [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Race science is just an example of how academic science hasn’t always acted responsibly. research should and is subject to ethical considerations and responsible inovation meaning that science should be done in the public interest

      it would be science to create a new hyper infectious strain of smallpox and there should be barriers to stop someone doing that

      • Chetzemoka@startrek.website
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        1 year ago

        There are ethical barriers to stop those kind of things. Militaries are going to ignore those ethical considerations, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. There was tremendous outcry when irresponsible researchers in China genetically modified fetuses in hopes of making them immune to HIV, without any consideration for the ethics of the situation.

        Is academic ethics perfect? Of course not. But it exists and I don’t see any proposals for a better system.

        It’s not different from the abortion debate. Abortion is already regulated quite well by medical ethics. Will that prevent 100% of morally reprehensible situations from occurring? Of course not. But that does not mean we need additional legal regulation (which wouldn’t prevent, but only punish anyway.)

        There is already effort to improve the racist, sexist barriers to performing academic science and to call out questionable science (particularly medical science, which is probably the worst offender for perpetuating racist and sexist science right now). Those efforts are precisely why we’re seeing such a backlash from the white supremacists these days. Just look at what they’re targeting - critical race theory and intersectional feminism. Those are academic corrections to academic problems.

      • Chetzemoka@startrek.website
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        1 year ago

        “requires many barriers to science”

        That’s a literal word for word quote from the comment I was originally replying to. I didn’t exaggerate anything.

        Is someone still publishing caliper head measurements in 2023 that you’re aware of? No. Just like no one is publishing flat earth “studies” even though some idiot members of the public think that’s fun right now. And no one is publishing about the aether. Who is the arbiter of what compromises junk science, if not the scientific community? The founder of SciHub is a communist. Release all the science.

          • Chetzemoka@startrek.website
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            1 year ago

            No more than you’re suggesting that there are racist astronomy studies being published, even though I could choose to disingenuously represent your position with that statement.

            Racist studies need to be refuted. It’s not that hard. Restricting access to all science (which I see you now notice is what that other commenter was suggesting) isn’t going to magically stop racist studies from being published.

            And again, who are you suggesting should be the arbiter?