"If It'S nOt ScIeNcE iT's A lIE" is an exceptionally common trope, especially among the people in my social strata. I'm not entirely sure that people espousing that belief set are even doing so explicitly, i think it's so implicit as to have become an unconsidered axiom.

I (see upthread), a scientist myself, think it's absolute hogwash, and i'm certainly not abnormal among my peers in that.

There's something about being the person who not only watches how the sausage is made but has spent (ack) 14 years at this point making sausages of several kinds that kind of strips away overly idealistic expectations about How Pure And Right This Thing Must Be. If you're lucky, and i think i am, you learn enough humility to acknowledge the value of other people's sausage-makings. And, often, have the right state of mind to see and acknowledge the intellectual power and meaningful contributions of people well outside my field.

What's really odd about this is that I see more of the armchair types doing this than the actual scientists. Of the scientists I know (I've worked at several national labs, so I imagine it is quite a lot more than the average person), I can't think of a single one that didn't value art. Their homes are filled with it and there is a passion. It is also pretty common for scientists to be amateur artists as well. Most that I know are even strong advocates of the arts. Conversely, if you go on sites like Reddit and the like, there is this tribal reinforcement and deviating from the chants is heresy.

It is strange being in a group and seeing my group believe one thing but hearing people claim to be part of my group and telling me that I'm not doing it right. Even when I have the credentials and they don't...