SCIENTIFIC TRUTH AND THE VOX POPULI: Editorial Comment

Le résumé fourni par la source

A NUMBER of times each year the postman delivers to each of us a fact-finding questionnaire. Some of these inquisitions emanate from commercial firms and represent a subtle way of advertising a product about which the queries are clustered. I respect and understand the objective of these communications and, because I am busy, invariably file them in the scrapbasket. Other well-intended attempts to sample public opinion originate in educational institutions, as the policy of editors of medical journals who wish to keep subscribers informed, or as a means of gathering data to be used by an author in preparing the manuscript of a paper. There is no denying that uncovering what is common practice may guide the teacher toward teaching how practice can be improved. There is, however, an inherent danger in the irrational assumption that majority opinion points the way to truth and sound practice.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.