A few weeks ago, Jonah Lehrer wrote a somewhat dumbed-down and sensationalistic article for The New Yorker entitled, The Truth Wears Off: Is there something wrong with the scientific method? In it, Lehrer cites anecdotal evidence (and a little data) to support the proposition that perhaps the scientific method — how we scientifically validate our hypotheses with data and statistics — has gone horribly awry.
But what Lehrer failed to note is that most researchers already know about the flaws he describes, and diligently work toward minimizing the impact of those issues.
The scientific method isn’t broken. What Lehrer is describing is simply science at work — and working.