Jerry Coyne has another reason to be mad at Templeton

He has gone to the wrong station again.

First, background: He has been defending the Great Social Science Hoaxers of 2018 (you know, the people who rewrote Mein Kampf as feminist claptrap and got it accepted and so forth?) from the trumped-up accusations that now replace embarrassment on the part of academics in ex-disciplines in the social sciences. (But then if your discipline is essentially dead, maybe you have nothing to be embarrassed about?):

But were there any dangers in promulgating false data the way that BP&L did? No, because their papers never entered the literature. The trio of hoaxers promptly informed the journals of the hoax after the papers were accepted, and, as far as I know, none of those papers stand as published contributions…

Finally, Hanlon tries to exculpate the hoaxed journals because they are “interdisciplinary”: …

No, these journals fell for the hoaxes not because of their reverence for “science and scientific methods” (we have no data supporting that claim), but because the papers BP&L submitted were accepted because of reverence for their ideology, which was Authoritarian Leftist “grievance” work, in line with what these journals like. Jerry Coyne, “More science-dissing: WaPo’s misguided criticism of “scientism”” at Why Evolution Is True

Um, yeah. And if anyone thinks those people aren’t coming for serious science, well, they sure won’t need us to tell them when it happens.

That said, Coyne is distressed by the fact that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which supports people who are being jackbooted by authoritarian leftists, is supported by… Templeton:

What do you do when an organization you admire gets money from an organization you detest? I’ve just found out that FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a free-speech group whose work I admire, has gotten lots of dough from the John Templeton Foundation. Jerry Coyne, “FIRE is supported by Templeton” at Why Evolution Is True

Well, that’s a way better investment on Templeton’s part than crackpot cosmology. Jerry needs to stop whining and learn the term “co-belligerent.” People who win often have co-belligerents as well as friends and allies. It’s not an accident, it’s a feature.

Now get this: He says, “As for me, well, I’ll still report on FIRE’s activities promoting free speech on campus, but I won’t be involved with them in any other way (not that they’ve ever asked me!).” Can’t think why they haven’t asked him; can you? On the other hand, if he just minds his business and reports, he’ll be helping in the long run. .

See also: Social Science Hoax Papers: Putting A Respectable Face On Persecuting The Hoaxers

Embattled “Social Sciences Hoax” Prof Is Not A Hero, He’s A Canary

Social Science Hoaxer’s Job At Risk For Revealing “Bias”

Sokal hoaxes strike social science again

Exposing gender studies as a Sokal hoax

Social Science Hoax Papers Is One Of RealClearScience’s Top Junk Science Stories Of 2018

and

Alan Sokal, Buy Yourself A Latte: “Star Wars” Biology Paper Accepted

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