Dozens of studies can still be wrong
“Everyone” knows that you can’t trust just one study … but even dozens of studies can still add up to diddly and squat. Scott Alexander back in 2014:
I worry that most smart people have not learned that a list of dozens of studies, several meta-analyses, hundreds of experts, and expert surveys showing almost all academics support your thesis … can still be bullshit. Which is too bad, because that’s exactly what people who want to bamboozle an educated audience are going to use.
I worry about that too. The whole piece is highly recommended dorky reading: “Beware the Man of One Study.”
Reading that post is like listening to myself think. Which I realize is quite flattering to myself, because Astral Codex Ten (formerly Slate Star Codex) is amazing and Scott Alexander’s thinking/writing is amazing. But wow, seriously, dude… get out of my head!
Love the “radical skepticism” bit… 😜