3144 The State of Modern Science - Call In Show - December 4th, 2015

Introduction: [0:00] – San Bernardino Shooting and Terrorist Attack UpdateQuestion 1: [25:30] - I'm from California - in an area that doesn't see much crime - but after the shooting in San Bernardino, I feel that terrorism is getting too close to home. Are my worries about terrorism founded in today's realities - or am I just freaking out? Am I right to try and protect myself?Question 2: [1:25:00] - I am a clinical scientist who works in a government funded hospital laboratory. Having worked here for sometime, I have concluded that the current model for funding and completing research only breeds fraud and is a waste of resources. This is not incredibly surprising considering this is generally the case for government funded "anything" but what I have found depressing is the degree to which my colleagues, whom I consider intelligent individuals, vehemently reject this conclusion irrespective of the fact that the evidence is near incontrovertible. What bothers me more is the disconnect between public perception of scientists (ie: Objectivists in search of the truth to promote societal good) and the personalities I am surrounded by on a daily basis who are willing to make monumental logical leaps, cut corners, and distort reality just so long as they can be published. I enjoy my profession (in the technical sense), but watching dishonest people lauded as saviors, and showered with government grants has sapped my motivation. What is Stefan's view of government research? Is it worth being a part of a system that is laden with so much fraud? Does it make me immoral for taking money through taxation from the unassuming public to pay for my salary? Does the current system simply need to be abolished?