Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405;
Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Mar 13;115(11):2632-2639. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1711786114.
It appears paradoxical that science is producing outstanding new results and theories at a rapid rate at the same time that researchers are identifying serious problems in the practice of science that cause many reports to be irreproducible and invalid. Certainly, the practice of science needs to be improved, and scientists are now pursuing this goal. However, in this perspective, we argue that this seeming paradox is not new, has always been part of the way science works, and likely will remain so. We first introduce the paradox. We then review a wide range of challenges that appear to make scientific success difficult. Next, we describe the factors that make science work-in the past, present, and presumably also in the future. We then suggest that remedies for the present practice of science need to be applied selectively so as not to slow progress and illustrate with a few examples. We conclude with arguments that communication of science needs to emphasize not just problems but the enormous successes and benefits that science has brought and is now bringing to all elements of modern society.
一方面，科学正在快速产生杰出的新成果和理论；另一方面，研究人员发现科学实践中存在严重问题，导致许多报告无法重现，也失去了有效性。诚然，科学实践需要改进，而科学家们现在正在追求这一目标。然而，从这个角度来看，我们认为这种看似矛盾的现象并不新鲜，它一直是科学运作方式的一部分，而且可能会继续如此。我们首先介绍这个悖论，然后回顾一系列似乎使科学成功变得困难的挑战。接下来，我们描述了过去、现在以及推测未来使科学发挥作用的因素。然后，我们建议有针对性地应用科学实践的补救措施，以免减缓科学发展的步伐，并通过一些例子来说明。最后，我们提出科学传播不仅需要强调问题，还需要强调科学已经带来的巨大成功和益处，以及它现在正给现代社会各个方面带来的益处。
