Scientific argument, by contrast, in the sense that matters to the iron rule, is what appears in science’s official channels for broadcasting research, namely, the scientific journals and conference presentations. It is only in such venues, on the printed page and the projected slide, that objectivity is required. There are, of course, many other places in which scientists argue: in their lab meetings, in their conversations over a beer after a hard day’s research, and in their public but unofficial communications, such as television interviews, popular books, and talks at public libraries and
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this only works because and to the extent that the official communication is genuinely the thing people are listening to when they make up their minds.
