Scott Thompson will conclude his series about “A Scientific Disposition.” This last part will focus on the importance of honesty. Scientists have an institutionalized kind of honesty. Because of peer review and the expectations of professional integrity, scientists must learn to be honest with themselves, their teams and the wider world about the “whats” and “hows” of their experiments and derivations, as well as their conclusions. Scientists expect each other to be forthright and honest.

Overcoming confirmation biases, whereby we see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe is, arguably, the most important part of scientific honesty.

What lessons can we learn from this to help us succeed in the conduct of our lives outside of science? Scott will propose definite benefits for both individuals and broader society (e.g. government) by holding ourselves and our leaders to a higher standard of honesty.