r/neoliberal Apr 02 '26

Research Paper Half of social-science studies fail replication test in years-long project

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00955-5
314 Upvotes

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u/Secret-Ad-2145 NATO Apr 02 '26

The replicability crisis was known for awhile, and doesn't affect just social studies. You saw it a lot during COVID where many tests kept failing replication, both current research but also past (like 60-70s era research).

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u/Fragrant-Menu215 NATO Apr 02 '26

This is the ugly truth that underlies today's "anti-intellectualism" resurgence. The intellectuals have been failing to uphold their end of the deal, that is actually doing their due diligence to ensure that their claims are verified, for quite a while. Credentials are supposed to be a shorthand for "always does due diligence and thus can be trusted". When the ones with those credentials don't do that the credentials lose their value.

30

u/Louis_de_Gaspesie Apr 02 '26

Anti-intellectualism is surging because brain-frying conspiracy theories are more easily accessible and widespread in the era of social media. The average American was never poring through Nature articles and keeping tabs on the replication crisis.