As usual I was reading some article by some “independent” who naively assumes that science actually proceeds by questioning.

First thought: As usual I was thinking about the peculiar disconnect between the public myth of science and the reality of science. Anyone who has worked in research for a while realizes that self-censorship is automatic and orthodoxy is rigidly enforced. This is permanent and innate and normal. Ockham tried to break out of it 1000 years ago. Others have tried since. Nothing changes.

Next thought: When you know how the sausage is made, you don’t buy sau….

Wait.

With actual sausage, the insider knowledge is ALSO public knowledge. Everyone knows that hot dogs are made from nasty leftovers. Pig lips, knuckles, guts, miscellaneous organs, everything but the squeal. The latter is a common saying.

Why does inside knowledge become public in some industries and not others? The real workings of academia have been constant for 1000 years. At least before 1946, science was not an integral part of Deepstate. Even now, only some subjects (nuclear research and “medicine”) are integral parts of the secret-keeping spy fraternity.  1000 years ought to be long enough for conventional wisdom to absorb the facts.

One possible answer: Public school curricula are written by academia, not by the meat industry. In high school and undergraduate courses we were constantly “taught” the ideal scientific method, and we “learned” that the current orthodoxy in every subject was final and perfect because it was reached by open and free experimentation. We read Upton Sinclair, but we didn’t read Parkinson or Ockham.