I bet the true numbers are even higher. “Science” these days is all about getting the next grant and advancing your political agenda.
“I bet the true numbers are even higher.”
Snort. Way higher. And when you figure in the decisions of funding agencies and organizations...
As someone who has worked in academe for 30 years, I am not impressed by the ethics of intellectuals. They are probably more dishonest than the average person and much better at rationalizing their behavior. They also seem to have the attitude that they are smarter than everyone else and thus the normal rules of society don't apply to them.
It is this arrogance which would lead them to falsify data because they are so convinced of the truth of their theory that the data which disproves it must be false. Of course, there are also those little issues of amassing a publication record, securing grants, getting cited by others, building a reputation, getting promoted, securing a chaired professorship, landing lucrative consulting engagements, etc. Any of these can provide the incentive for a little fudging.