Mastodawn

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A commentary [1] reminds how fast science and research may backslide when freedom backslides.

An idea so old: replacing "peer review with the judgment of nonexpert political appointees" towards "complete political control of science" [1]

This made me think again about liberty (John Stuart Mill: https://hostux.social/@dderigo/112968366827427191) and #EpistemicHumility (as #Feynman [2] frequently reminded: https://hostux.social/@dderigo/112955785815324476) as a key horizon never fundamentally introjected, periodically on the brink of the abyss

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Daniele de Rigo

The idea to "ensure that all funded projects are “aligned with the administration’s priorities”" [1] is not new.

Already seen in #Europe too, together with plans for digital #surveillance: pretending to be "for our own good" but implying, in a #DigitalSociety, the substitution of surveillance for democratic and scientific #freedom.

Plans often announced with two steps towards the abyss, then maybe "sparing" us one step (much to the relief of fools), in a slow "boiled frog" seesawing drift.

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Daniele de Rigo 1d ago

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One may read this [1] side by side with the #EpistemicHumility point by #Feynman [2]:

"Our #freedom to #doubt was born out of a struggle against authority in the early days of #science. It was a very deep and strong struggle"

"If we suppress all discussion, all criticism proclaiming “This is the answer, my friends; man is saved!” we will doom humanity for a long time to the chains of #authority, confined to the limits of our present imagination. It has been done so many times before" [2]

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Daniele de Rigo 1d ago

#References

[1] Mervis, J., 2026. White House seeks to tighten political oversight of grantmaking. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.zv0elgw

[2] Feynman, R.P., 1955. The value of science. Engineering and Science 11 (3), 13–15. https://archive.org/details/feynman_201604
(originally, a public address given at the 1955 autumn meeting of the National Academy of Sciences - see also https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/40/ )

#DOI #InternetArchive