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Will Lawyers Destroy Science?
American Council on Science and Health ^ | 29 Dec, 2017 | Alex Berezow

Posted on 01/06/2018 9:12:56 AM PST by MtnClimber

Scientists and lawyers do not get along. There's a reason for that. Simply put, scientists and lawyers do not think alike.

I was smacked in the face by this reality when I was called into jury duty in 2011. The case involved a car accident, and the standard in Washington State for the jury to decide in favor of the plaintiff is a "preponderance of evidence," which is a fancy way of saying, "51 percent." Essentially, a coin toss decides if the plaintiff wins a bunch of money.

The judge asked if any of the potential jurors objected to that. I did. "I'm a scientist," I explained, "and I need more evidence than that." So, I was shown the door.*

That experience taught me that scientists and lawyers live in two completely different worlds. Scientists want 95% confidence and margins of error; lawyers want 51% confidence. .........

These are fundamentally irreconcilable worldviews that are forever destined to be in conflict. And the lawyers are winning.

Will Lawyers Destroy Science?

Consider Mark Jacobson, the climate scientist who is suing a prestigious journal for $10 million because it hurt his feelings. There is good reason to believe that the lawsuit will be dismissed, but not before lawyers have collected a nice fee for themselves. Jacobson's attorneys and the journal's attorneys can both make a lot of money arguing with each other, even if the suit never actually goes to trial. Routinely, lawyers are required to solve problems that they themselves created. If something like this were to occur in any other area of life, it would be called racketeering.

(Excerpt) Read more at acsh.org ...


TOPICS: Science; Society
KEYWORDS: lawyers
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1 posted on 01/06/2018 9:12:56 AM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

That lying defense and slip-and-fall lawyers become lying democRAT politicians should not surprise anyone.


2 posted on 01/06/2018 9:14:13 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Will Lawyers Destroy Science = $$$$$$$$$$$$

Amything for a buck


3 posted on 01/06/2018 9:15:42 AM PST by Vaduz (women and children to be impacted the most.)
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To: MtnClimber

Lawyers destroy American freedom. Can REAL science be far behind?


4 posted on 01/06/2018 9:15:44 AM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: MtnClimber

One must remember the difference between Civil vs Criminal trials. Civil = preponderance of evidence = 51%
Criminal = Beyond a reasonable doubt @ 95%


5 posted on 01/06/2018 9:18:05 AM PST by Billyv (Freedom isn't Free! Get off the sidelines!)
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To: MtnClimber
I once read an article in Physics Today where there was a lawsuit over a car wreck: one side had the engineers, who created a simulation of the accident using Newton's Laws of Motion and so on.

They lost the case when the opposing lawyer said in his summary to the jury, "Eveyone knows the laws of physics are obeyed in the laboratory but not in rural New Jersey." /headdesk>

6 posted on 01/06/2018 9:20:45 AM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: MtnClimber

On a related note, there is no such thing as “settled science”. The percentage of scientists who believe that Global Warming is “settled science” is also the percentage of scientists who are no longer scientists.

So yeah, lawyers are not really needed to destroy science. It’s being done from within.


7 posted on 01/06/2018 9:20:50 AM PST by Leaning Right (I have already previewed or do not wish to preview this composition.)
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To: MtnClimber

You were shown the door because you think analytically. I can promise you that any lawyer who would have been called up for jury duty that day would have also been shown the door.

They don’t want analytical people on juries and that is part of what is wrong with the legal system.


8 posted on 01/06/2018 9:23:06 AM PST by BlackAdderess (MAGA!)
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To: MtnClimber

It takes a special kind of stupid to think that preponderance of the evidence equates to a coin flip.

(Plus. This guy reminds me of the OJ juror who argued that a pencil dropped out of sight behind the prosecutor’s table might not hit the floor because the prosecutor might have rigged a hidden bag to catch it.)


9 posted on 01/06/2018 9:23:51 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: grey_whiskers

The “expert witnesses” are the biggest liars in the courtroom. Particularly those working for the plaintiff lawyers.


10 posted on 01/06/2018 9:26:05 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: MtnClimber

Engineers build things, lawyers just get in the way.


11 posted on 01/06/2018 9:28:39 AM PST by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: MtnClimber

Lawyers destroy everything they touch. Lawyers (and accountants) are secondary, derivative players. Pay attention to the limits they set for your actions. But, the minute you start letting them drive the train, get ready for a wreck - - which they will charge you to oversee.


12 posted on 01/06/2018 9:46:20 AM PST by ameribbean expat
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To: reg45

Lieyaws have to obey the laws of Physics, just not in their courtrooms.


13 posted on 01/06/2018 9:54:39 AM PST by Paladin2
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To: MtnClimber

Who needs lawyers? The Groupthink of grant-grabbing academics has destroyed science.


14 posted on 01/06/2018 9:57:07 AM PST by Bryanw92 (Asking a pro athlete for political advice is like asking a cavalry horse for tactical advice.)
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To: Paladin2

Does the DoJ/FBI IG really need 500 Very Special Agents, many of whom could be repurposed to opioid mfg. and dist?


15 posted on 01/06/2018 10:01:15 AM PST by Paladin2
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To: Vaquero

Junk scientists have done a lot of damage to science already. Its not all just external. Some journals will publish garbbage papers for a fee. And some researchers specialize in validating agendas for cash.


16 posted on 01/06/2018 10:01:49 AM PST by AndyTheBear
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To: MtnClimber

Yep,politicians/lawyers. Often one and the same.


17 posted on 01/06/2018 10:02:40 AM PST by Leep (My otto erect is walking joist find.)
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To: MtnClimber

Lawyers can’t destroy a method. Science is the scientific method, practiced by geniuses and three year olds and an objective use of logic and fact.

Lawyers will attempt to take down anything for the right fee, though. Depends on who’s paying.


18 posted on 01/06/2018 10:04:25 AM PST by Yaelle
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To: MtnClimber

Gravity not just a good idea, IT’S THE LAW.


19 posted on 01/06/2018 10:05:30 AM PST by nuke_road_warrior (Making the world safe for nuclear power for over 20 years)
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To: Yaelle
Lawyers can’t destroy a method.

Precisely. They can certainly suppress its results, but not forever. "You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality” - Ayn Rand.

20 posted on 01/06/2018 10:10:31 AM PST by Billthedrill
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