It doesn't have to be something technical, academic or work related. What subjects do you know about or have expertise in?
One problem I had with other sites in the past is that far too often people with credentials, experience and more valuable opinions that are based on facts are ignored. Meanwhile the laman's populist opinion is upvoted and a good response is buried in comments.
What sort of subverses do you recommend/moderate to discuss these subjects? Take it a step further (unlike myself) and take ownership of these and make OC.
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[–] Vvswiftvv17 ago
Non-profit management and fundraising. I worked ten years in the industry. There is no such thing as a legit nonprofit. They need money to survive and will adjust their programs as often as needed to meet the demands of grants they have been awarded. This also applies to education institutions. If the "Al Gore for Global Warming" foundation is wanting to award a $3 Million grant to an institution willing to study climate change I promise you everything published from that school supports climate change. It has hampered the pursuit of true academic knowledge. There is even a term for this it's called "institutional capture". It means the orgs created to keep a sector or interest in check end up becoming beholden to the industry and leaders instead of the thing they were trying to protect.
[–] jimmyrussel [S] 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
I can echo your sentiment about 'legit nonprofit'. Many of the hospitals and insurance companies I worked with outwardly display a non-profit mission statement and 501c(3) non profit designation despite operating like any for-profit in the same industry.
People look at me weird when I say science is subject to bribery and conflict of interest. I worked part time at a lab for a year or two in undergrad doing basic science stuff. It's pretty well established people will find what they want to find, and may selectively massage data or design experiments in a way to prove their preconceived hypothesis. I'll have to start using 'institutional capture' as a phrase more often. It's a good parallel to 'regulatory capture', where the industry owns the regulation of itself via paid politicians.
[–] Vvswiftvv17 ago
Speaking of which, this was just posted a few minutes ago: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-01/editors-world’s-most-prestigious-medical-journals-“much-scientific-literature-perhap