Jason Crawford

Beliefs Korrents

• Korrents What they believe 10 beliefs, 1 changed mind — each backed by an exact quote.

  Each is a korrent — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.

  Recent

  • “Trust science” is a confused instruction: what deserves trust is the process, not any particular thing it has concluded so far.

    Even in that case, though, what we should trust is not the particular output of the scientific process at any given time. It can make wrong turns. Instead, we should trust that it will find the truth eventually, and that it is our best and only method for doing so.

    What does it mean to “trust science”? Said 16 Aug 2023

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  • There is no capital-S Science that can stand as an authority; there is only reasoning done systematically.

    There is no capital-S Science—a new authority to substitute for God or King.

    What does it mean to “trust science”? Said 16 Aug 2023

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  • Science can identify problems but cannot by itself tell us what to do about them.

    Physics, chemistry and biology can point out problems, but we need history, economics and philosophy to solve them.

    What does it mean to “trust science”? Said 16 Aug 2023

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  Show 7 more

  • Progress used to run in several industries at once and now runs in one, which is what the slowdown actually consists of.

    It’s that we went from five simultaneous technology revolutions to one.

    Technological stagnation Said 23 Jan 2021

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  • Stagnation does not mean no progress; it means progress slower than the late 1800s to mid-1900s peak.

    Stagnation just means slower progress. And not even slower than that pre-industrial era, but slower than, roughly, the late 1800s to mid-1900s, when growth rates are said to have peaked.

    Technological stagnation Said 23 Jan 2021

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  • Two centuries of progress were a trend with real causes rather than a fluke, and can continue far into the future.

    A foundational conviction of this project is that progress is a trend with definite, substantive causes, and that it can continue far, far into the future.

    Progress: Fluke or trend? Said 12 Sept 2020

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  • Progress is not driven mainly by material resources, so running out of them is not what would stop it.

    I don’t think progress is primarily driven by material resources.

    Progress: Fluke or trend? Said 12 Sept 2020

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  • Progress is not natural or automatic: it happens only while people believe it is possible and desirable, and it can stop.

    Progress isn’t natural; we make it happen through choice and effort, and we only do so when we believe it is possible and desirable.

    Progress: Fluke or trend? Said 12 Sept 2020

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  • Fixing science's incentives means changing what journals, departments and funders are rewarded for, not only what scientists are.

    In any case, I think we need to not only look at the incentives facing scientists, but also those facing department heads, journals, and grant-making agencies.

    Stagnation, scientific incentives, and funding models Said 23 Feb 2020

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  • Understanding the causes of progress is a moral imperative, because progress is neither automatic nor guaranteed to continue.

    So if progress is a moral imperative, it is also a moral imperative to understand its causes, so that we can protect them and reinforce them.

    Progress studies as a moral imperative Said 7 Sept 2019

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  All 10 beliefs and 1 change of mind →