Intelligent Design the Future Rob Stadler: Six Criteria for High-Confidence Science
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Mar 16, 2026 Rob Stadler, a medical engineer and inventor with ~30 years in medical devices, outlines six criteria for high-confidence science. He explains how medicine’s evidence hierarchies inform broader scientific standards. Short segments cover repeatability, direct measurement, prospective control, bias reduction, disclosed assumptions, and making appropriately hedged claims.
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Prefer Direct Measurable Evidence
- Use direct, measurable observations instead of indirect proxies whenever possible.
- Rob contrasts feeling for fever with a thermometer and studying the moon directly versus inferring black hole properties indirectly.
Design Studies Prospectively To Control Confounders
- Plan studies prospectively to control confounding factors and support causal claims.
- Rob explains prospective design lets you control conditions, while retrospective analyses only show association.
Split Criteria Into Experiment And Scientist Quality
- Stadler groups his six criteria into two halves: the first three judge experiment quality, the last three judge scientist quality.
- This framing clarifies that strong science needs both robust methods and disciplined researchers.