My concern is the increasing trend to separate ourselves physically and socially from those who believe differently. More than ever, we appear to be willing to demean and dismiss those who disagree with us on a single point. We have already seen the split of journalism based on ideological bias. If what is happening at the CDC and NIH is true - people are leaving due to "bad science" - it only increases the chances of more "bad science". Diversity of thought is not desired or promoted. I'd guess (we'll see) that many who have moved from the heavily "blue" states - NY, CA, etc. - are the more moderate ones, further reducing the diversity of thought. And, as much as we want to think science is above biases, the problem is there is no science without people and people have biases. The Atlantic article below had some interesting points about why left-wing authoritarianism was missed. The findings themselves are interesting, but I think more significantly in terms of the importance of the diversity of thought was the following.
"That psychologists have been slow to acknowledge the existence of left-wing authoritarians at all is “puzzling,” Costello and his colleagues write. But here, I would argue, is where the
pronounced leftward orientation of researchers in social psychology comes in. “Academic psychology once had considerable political diversity, but has lost nearly all of it in the last 50 years,” according to a comprehensive 2014
review.
Universities have long tilted to the left, but that tendency has deepened as education has become ever more highly correlated with political ideology. Whatever its origin, this political imbalance makes truth-seeking harder. Studies have repeatedly shown that investigators’ sociopolitical views influence the questions they ask. What’s more, ideologically concordant reviewers are more likely to rate abstracts and papers highly if the findings comport with their own beliefs, all else being equal."
Many psychologists wrongly assumed that coercive attitudes exist only among conservatives.
www.theatlantic.com