“Is the scientific enterprise too risk-averse?”
The debate on whether the scientific enterprise is too risk-averse has gained attention, with a recent event at Johns Hopkins highlighting differing perspectives. Tyler Cowen participated in this debate, arguing in favor of the notion that science is indeed overly cautious. The debate resulted in a notable shift in opinion among participants.
- ▪Tyler Cowen participated in a debate at Johns Hopkins regarding the risk aversion in the scientific enterprise.
- ▪His argument in favor of the notion that science is too risk-averse led to a twelve-point shift in opinion.
- ▪The debate was made accessible through various platforms including YouTube and Spotify.
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| Original publisher | Marginal Revolution |
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| Publication time | Sun, 17 May 2026 06:35:41 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-17T06:38:59.055Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-17T06:38:59.055Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
“Is the scientific enterprise too risk-averse?” by Tyler Cowen May 17, 2026 at 2:35 am in Science I participated in an Open to Debate debate at Johns Hopkins not too long ago, argued yes, and my side saw a twelve-point shift in our favor. Here are some links: Links to the full debate: YouTube: https://youtu.be/AuPz09dpLSc Substack: https://opentodebate.substack.com/p/the-hopkins-forum-is-the-scientific Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2g54DD8v68vII771VdxlDC?si=d7c1c3b67de84901 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/open-to-debate/id216713308?i=1000767731431 Also to be broadcast over NPR.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Marginal Revolution.
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