Some proposals now mooted would alter the procedures in science, by accelerating publication and requiring greater openness. Modern natural science uses a social system invented by the experimental philosophers of the 17th Century, to enforce high ideals on the fallible human beings who practise science. The system turned out to be the most powerful engine of discovery ever created, and some people urge caution in tampering with it. In essence, anyone can propose any idea or result he or she likes, but the proposal formally enters the social system of science only when published in a socially accepted form. Nowadays that means publication in a reputable refereed journal.
Publication exposes the idea or result to criticism, verification or refutation by other scientists.
Observations and experiments must in general be reproducible by anyone with the right kit. Amid all the arguments, and all attempts to assert personal authority, any decision rests ultimately with the experimental results. Scientists are expected to acknowledge Nature's verdict with a good grace. The social system of natural science is very robust and very productive, though often ultraconservative and slow to change in its core opinions. People with crazy-seeming ideas that turn out to be correct may have to wait twenty years for the consensus to shift in their favour.