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Call For Scientific Research Code To Be Released
Pentagram writes "Professor Ince, writing in the Guardian, has issued a call for scientists to make the code they use in the course of their research publicly available. He focuses specifically on the topical controversies in climate science, and concludes with the view that researchers who are able but unwilling to release programs they use should not be regarded as scientists. Quoting: 'There is enough evidence for us to regard a lot of scientific software with worry. For example Professor Les Hatton, an international expert in software testing resident in the Universities of Kent and Kingston, carried out an extensive analysis of several million lines of scientific code. He showed that the software had an unacceptably high level of detectable inconsistencies. For example, interface inconsistencies between software modules which pass data from one part of a program to another occurred at the rate of one in every seven interfaces on average in the programming language Fortran, and one in every 37 interfaces in the language C. This is hugely worrying when you realise that just one error — just one — will usually invalidate a computer program. What he also discovered, even more worryingly, is that the accuracy of results declined from six significant figures to one significant figure during the running of programs.'"
I mean, it is just easier to keep lying to people to get them to believe what you want them to believe. It works for politicians.
I personally don't care if he was sued by the 4th Emperor of the Lastman Squealing dynasty. Post your work, put it up for review and suck it up buttercup when dealing with scientific review.
Om, nomnomnom...
The public doesn't fund any research you insensitive clod the goverment does. It's the goverment's money not yours...
Seriously when in any debate with a politician have you heard "We need to be careful how we spend THEIR money..." Never, it is always "OUR money".
Now go pay homage to dear leader! OBEY!
-=[ Who Is John Galt? ]=-
OMG there is bugzorz in teh codezor'z? Oh Noooooesonehundredandeleventyoneoneone!!!!!
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
This, in my book, is what it's all about. The relevant information was shared with people in a position to understand it and analyze it. It'd be a whole different story if the public wasn't filled with a bunch of ignorant whack-jobs, trying to smear scientists. When we're trying to do science, we'd rather do science than defend ourselves against hacks with a public soapbox. If you want access to the data and the code, go to a school and study the stuff. All the doors are open then. The price of admission is just having some vague idea wtf you're talking about.
Man, this is why people hate academics. You are saying that in order for me to have the right to look at your work and possibly criticize your methods I have to join your club? I can't possibly recognize shitty conclusions or biased thinking without devoting 10 years of my life to fitting in with your particular little group. You are not a scientist you are bureaucrat. p.s. Kiss my ass
I only scored 35% on the Nerd Test, I'm sorry.