Yes, that might get uncomfortable to dwell on what might be seen as a screw up by "peers".

Along with fairly natural human Darwinoid impulses at achieving and maintaining dominance, or when something for whatever reason makes one possibly look bad, that situation may be evaded by various hypocricies.

A hypocricy, as we see in the political arena as well, allows someone to avoid confrontation over a matter that is not really settled conclusively, may not even be amenable to total settlement.

I just finished watching a program on the Learning
Channel about a botched circumcision, (David Reimer) and a failed attempt to raise the victim as a girl, directed by the medical "authority" and by the psychologist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer

I will continue to be sympathetic with cyanidefreak when he wryly asserts that scientists are liars. After all, it would be unrealistic to try to believe that "scientists" are really different from anyone else in the "normal" ego defense and in their self-assertion temptations toward avoiding embarassment. That is, naturally wanting to evade unflattering or disadvantageous manifestations.