science is one of the few fields where you can, if you have good ideas
get yourself published and become famous. A German patent clerk is a
good example of this. A. Einstein was rather looked down on by the
Junker establishment. He could not have done anything in politics. He
published a brilliant paper in 1905 which cleared up the Michaelson
Morley experiment, and another in 1915 which laid Leverrier's Vulcan to
rest and explained the orbit of Mercury.

These papers were read by scientists and jugded on their merits. Their
brilliance eventally led to a dazzling academic career. Every
prediction, with the exception of gravitational waves has been
experimentally verified.

That is not in any way due to the defects of the theory, it is due to
the defects of NASA and its ridiculous infatuation with the shuttle and
the space station. LISA will not be launced for a long time, but it is
certain to pick up gravitational waves when it is. Of course with
politics and manned space flight nobody will listen - the Junker
mentality.

Many scientific papers which are published are wrong. referees allow
publication when in doubt. Scientists themselves are expected to sort
out the wheat from the chaff.