"Scientists tend to be skeptical, but the weakness of the community of science is that it tends to move into preformed establishment modes that say this is the only way of doing science, the only valid view"
About this Quote
“Preformed establishment modes” is a pointed phrase. It suggests that the pathways of legitimacy are set before the evidence arrives: what counts as a “real” question, which methods are “serious,” which findings are “interesting,” who gets funded, published, invited. Gilbert isn’t accusing scientists of being anti-truth; he’s warning that institutions can confuse consensus with correctness, and procedure with rigor. The subtext is less romantic than the myth of the lone genius and more bureaucratic: peer review, grant panels, and journal gatekeeping can reward safety, pedigree, and familiar frameworks. “The only valid view” echoes how a field can mistake its current model for reality itself.
Context matters: Gilbert helped pioneer molecular biology and worked in an era when the DNA revolution became an establishment of its own. Once a discipline wins, it builds infrastructure around its victory. His intent is a corrective from inside the house: skepticism must be applied not just to claims, but to the community’s default settings. The quote works because it indicts a subtle failure mode - not the absence of doubt, but the routinization of it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Science |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gilbert, Walter. (2026, January 17). Scientists tend to be skeptical, but the weakness of the community of science is that it tends to move into preformed establishment modes that say this is the only way of doing science, the only valid view. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/scientists-tend-to-be-skeptical-but-the-weakness-79160/
Chicago Style
Gilbert, Walter. "Scientists tend to be skeptical, but the weakness of the community of science is that it tends to move into preformed establishment modes that say this is the only way of doing science, the only valid view." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/scientists-tend-to-be-skeptical-but-the-weakness-79160/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Scientists tend to be skeptical, but the weakness of the community of science is that it tends to move into preformed establishment modes that say this is the only way of doing science, the only valid view." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/scientists-tend-to-be-skeptical-but-the-weakness-79160/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
