Since science does not depend on every detail's being absolutely and irrevocably true, we must not nitpick, or science may be inhibited. We do not know exactly how science proceeds, and if we tamper with the process, especially via arbitrary agencies outside of science, more harm than good may be done. We should marvel that objective science has progressed to the degree that it has in spite of the fact that subjective human beings are carrying it out.
Of course, the process of science will be more efficient if we minimize the amount of chaff contained in journals. This will not be accomplished by a police force checking every laboratory. Governmental overseers should get out of the business of looking at the details of science and analyze the overall structure of science as a social institution. This analysis should reveal that economic factors are responsible for more fraud than is ...
