Obviously it takes money to do pretty much anything in our society but it does seem like it has way more influence that is necessary. Greed seems to corrupt everything, and even though we can identify areas where things can be improved nobody seems to be wiling or able to change course.

Perhaps this means it really does have to start with journal publications though. If journals value null results, peer reviewers will sharpen their ability to distinguish null but well-run experiments from ones that failed simply due to poor execution. Then employers can use published null results as a positive signal that a researcher is indeed doing good quality work.

Not that I'm saying all science has to economic purposes.

"When even truth itself needs an angle ...

... every lie looks like a viable alternative".-