100% agree this is no way to conduct a scientific discussion. I hope this logic is extended. For example, people keep dunking on EFD because he has a "nutritional epi" PhD. I do think he's wrong (quite often) but because he is wrong, not that he lacks just the right credentials.+
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Replying to @zeynep @CT_Bergstrom
My issue with EFD’s credentials is that he presents himself (or at least makes no attempt to be clear) as an infectious disease expert; his credentials aren’t *why* he’s wrong, of course. But he shouldn’t misrepresent the fact that he’s a well-I formed layman in ID.
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Credentials are relevant to discussions of public trust in dissemination of information. They’re a proxy we use for expertise. Scientists should be clear.
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That said, “this guy doesn’t have a PhD so he’s wrong” is obviously a risible argument.
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Replying to @Dr24hours @CT_Bergstrom
Of course. My point (gingerly lest it be misunderstood as personal) is that "epitwitter" does a large amount of this (not directed at Carl) without noticing that, to the outsider, it looks very similar AND there are experts with right credentials and really wrong assertions, too.
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"He's just a student" is the sign of a weak argument and attempt to gatekeep in the worst possible way, and it's terrible especially coming from someone who's obviously, well, wrong. No disagreement.
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The broader point I'm making is that this is actually a fairly common practice without perhaps self-awareness on how it looks, and this may be an opportunity to see how it does look from the outside—but nobody likes hearing that so I say my two cents and kinda leave it there.
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Replying to @zeynep @CT_Bergstrom
Yes indeed (and no fears about it being taken personally - I’m in AA. I don’t do that anymore.
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Academics/scientists SUCK at recognizing and/or honoring the boundaries of their expertise.
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And I get it. I took a class in epidemiology at U Michigan in 2012. Surely I’m an expert! (I am not an expert.)
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My pre-pandemic work is necessarily multidisciplinary (by nature) and I crossed a lot of disciplinary boundaries during the pandemic (out of frustration and a sense I could contribute) so I'm sensitive to the "how to do it right/avoid pitfalls" question.
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Replying to @zeynep
Mine too; curse of the systems engineer. I’ve published in modeling, diabetes epi, hospital performance/strategy, data science, data ethics, research policy, etc etc.
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Replying to @Dr24hours @zeynep
But the only things I can claim true expertise in - like willing to stake my institution’s reputation on? DES/ABM modeling of hospital systems, and Human Subjects Data Ethics.
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