I think “scout mindset” vs “soldier mindset” in individuals is the wrong thing to be focusing on in general (. You will never succeed in making individuals perfectly unbiased. In science, plenty of people with “soldier mindset” do great work and make great discoveries.
What matters is that the system as a whole is epistemologically healthy and has mechanisms to successfully counteract people’s biases. A “soldier” in science is still meant to be honest and argue for their views with evidence and experimentation, and other scientists are incentivized to probe their arguments for weaknesses.
A culture where less people quit of their own accord, but more people are successfully pressured to leave due to high levels of skeptical scrutiny might be superior.
I think “scout mindset” vs “soldier mindset” in individuals is the wrong thing to be focusing on in general (. You will never succeed in making individuals perfectly unbiased. In science, plenty of people with “soldier mindset” do great work and make great discoveries.
What matters is that the system as a whole is epistemologically healthy and has mechanisms to successfully counteract people’s biases. A “soldier” in science is still meant to be honest and argue for their views with evidence and experimentation, and other scientists are incentivized to probe their arguments for weaknesses.
A culture where less people quit of their own accord, but more people are successfully pressured to leave due to high levels of skeptical scrutiny might be superior.