gwern comments on Cold fusion: real after all? - Less Wrong

-3 Post author: ahbwramc 17 April 2013 07:27PM

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Comment author: externalmonologue 18 April 2013 06:51:37PM *  1 point [-]

The real reason to doubt cold fusion is real is because of lack of replication and communication between relevant experts to replicate the phenomena. Its been several decades and there isn't continuous refinement and improvement.

Parapsychology has the same problem.

But, publication bias is a problem throughout science, especially in medicine and psychology but mainstream science believes in and trusts the treatment prescribed by doctors and psychiatrists/psychologists. This baffles me: no one in the mainstream of scientific authority says mental disorders don't exist, but by the standards of bias and lack of replication, we would have to say so, wouldn't we?

To be clear: there is no mainstream scientific theory that explains mental disorders. This is so obvious we forget it, right? Yet we don't say mental disorders do not exist. We use different criteria based upon social status, not the quality of evidence. Now, maybe you don't do this. I don't know you that well, but its clear and easy to see the standard of evidence isn't met in many other areas of science - like genetics and evolutionary development.

Comment author: gwern 18 April 2013 06:55:43PM 10 points [-]

This baffles me: no one says mental disorders don't exist

Did not Szasz build a well-respected, successful, and famous career doing just that?

Comment author: externalmonologue 18 April 2013 08:39:19PM 1 point [-]

I know, I edited my remark after thinking a bit more to read, "no one in the mainstream..."

I am only trying to draw out the difference between claims of net power through some unknown physical process and the obvious flaws of cold fusion as a means of explaining the statistical phenomena. Non existence is obvious and trivial, but sometimes it merely points to our own ignorance. I am not a physicist so I use heuristics to decide who to believe, but they are mere heuristics and really shouldn't be taken very seriously.