11 June 2017

Motherboard: Two Dudes Wrote a Fake Penis Study and Got It Published to Slam Gender Research

The 3,000-word "paper" is dense and winding, and argues that the penis is better thought of a social construct than an actual anatomical body part. It goes on to state that if we shift our societal understanding of the penis, we could better combat climate change. [...]

It this feels like it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, that's because it wasn't supposed to. The authors Peter Boyle and Jamie Lindsay were actually pseudonyms for Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay, two skeptic, atheist, shitdisturbers with backgrounds in philosophy and mathematics, respectively.

After publication Boghossian and Lindsay published a confessional in Skeptic magazine stating that they intentionally wrote a barely-coherent argument in an effort to bring a critical lens to both pay-to-publish journals and the field of gender studies. [...]

But other scientists have come to the defense of the field of gender studies, pointing out that flawed, weak, or incorrect papers get published in practically all disciplines, including medicine and math. The journal in question also isn't as well-regarded as Boghossian and Lindsay claimed, meaning the larger issue may lie with predatory, pay-for-publication, open access journals which charge authors a fee to publish material, creative a clear conflict of interest. This problem has long been identified and expands far beyond gender or social sciences.

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