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points by hahn-kev 2 days ago | 0 comments
People reading a source can't know if it's true just by reading it either (though they could be fairly sure if it's false sometimes)
[–] kzrdude 2 days ago
That's not how academic literature works. The structure is like this: Statement (Citation). The citation is not an affirmation of truth but a content declaration; this statement is supported by this publication. The receipts are there, so that you can trace the argumentation and make your own conclusions if necessary.

'Knowledge' formed this way is a living, evolving graph, and sometimes links are broken (findings are reevaluated or disproven); having the content declaration so clearly in the open makes it easier to deal with this evolving landscape.

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