[squabbles]

Academia is at the vanguard of dismissing meritocracy for politicking. If it were so great at dispassionately pursuing the truth then you wouldn't get things like decades of Alzheimer's research being based on a fraudulent study. There's nothing magical about the academy. They don't hire people of above average moral integrity and they are incentivized to publish attention grabbing findings. The result is they form cliques to protect their meal ticket theories.

[roenxi]

You may say that but there is much more of a backlash against a fraudulent study than, say, all the people who lied the US into various financially ruinous wars. Despite one of those being objectively much worse for more people than the other.

The academy condemns people who publish fraudulent studies. The US political class is mostly at peace with the legacy of a George W. Bush or equivalent. Mild admiration for his political technique. Relatively popular president compared to the last 2. This is a difference of culture.

> There's nothing magical about the academy.

There is nothing magic about anything. Magic isn't an influence over our daily lives. :)

Things are still different from each other in observable ways.