With today's news that South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk faked the stem cell research that landed him on
Time magazine's list of people who mattered most in 2004,
CNN
has a poll up this morning asking:
Has your faith in scientists been dented by panel findings that stem cell data in South Korea was falsified?
A little
A great deal
Not at all
Why not ask about our "trust" in scientists? Or our "confidence" in scientists?
Perhaps it's no coincidence that this poll is worded to question "faith" during a time of attack on science by proponents of intelligent design. Those who feel dented a little or a great deal by one panel's findings must be ye of little faith in science to begin with.
When I took the poll, 57% percent indicated no dent, and that is, of course, the answer that people with any true "faith" in scientists would give. Dr. Hwang Woo-suk was found out by his peers and immediately resigned his university post because he falsified claims that he had cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them. The man is shamed. Would I be exaggerating to say that his chance of receiving significant funding for further research is nil?
Would we see such swift and unambiguous consequences for, say, a CEO who committed fraud in order to increase profits to self and corporation? A politician who gerrymandered a state to get a cohort of his party elected? A president who broke the law to spy on his neighbors?
If anything, this news confirms my faith in scientists. Some individuals can and will try to cheat in any human endeavor that involves fame and/or fortune. Heck, we're also hearing in the news today how Katrina relief volunteers, of all people, have skimmed at least $200,000 in Red Cross donations! But when it's a scientist who's the lyin cheatin SOB, the trusty scientific method is going to catch up with him eventually. Or her. It's just a matter of time.