quote:
In other words, the ones that confirm a finding when it is announced are the ones that specialize in that particular field. Specialists in other fields have to take their words for it.
This isn't quite true. As someone who went to graduate school studying physics, did some research in planetary sciences, and did some more graduate study in mathematics, I will say that only the most mediocre of researchers are stuck in their own sub-specialty. The best scientists are well-versed in several different fields, and even the average scientist knows enough about the other fields in his particular discipline that not only can she evaluate the different arguments but can pretty much spot crap when she sees it. In fact, as scraf mentioned about her husband, many researchers will do work in several different fields during their professional career.
"Intellectually, scientifically, even artistically, fundamentalism -- biblical literalism -- is a road to nowhere, because it insists on fidelity to revealed truths that are not true." -- Katha Pollitt