Cheating and Censorship in Science: China, Israel, and Us

Dr. Gavriel Avital’s career as Chief Scientist for the Israeli Education Ministry is over. Why? He committed a scientific sin by questioning anthropogenic climate change and evolution–both untouchable subjects (Article). What is more, he suggested that students should be allowed to learn about the scientific facts on both sides of these issues. Note that Dr. Avital was not accused of poor performance; Education Minister Sa’ar says the only reason for his dismissal was his unfortunate choice to differ from the scientific consensus opinion.

In China scientists encounter persecution of a different nature. A urologist, Dr. Xiao Chuanguo, arranged for a blogger, Dr. Fang Shimin, who accused him of scientific fraud, to be assaulted by a street gang. Dr. Xiao confessed on television, but the problem continues. Since China has no official policy on scientific misconduct, Dr. Fang feels that he is performing an essential service by reporting on 100 cases of scientific misconduct per year. The problem is that his work is neither confidential nor it would seem impartial (Economist Oct 9, p 115).

Fortunately, here in the United States we are above all that–or are we? Scientists may not hire thugs, but there is no doubt that science is slanted and censored for political, financial and other reasons. This is the purpose of AITSE. By education of the public and promotion of scientific integrity, we are working to free science from an unhealthy alliance with politics, financial considerations, ideology and the illusion of consensus. With your help, we can make a difference!