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User: malaprop

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  1. Re:Science is not open on What Open Source Shares With Science · · Score: 1

    I agree that science cannot truly be considered open while the results are essentially embargoed in highly expensive journals. The typical going rate for a single article is $35, which made sense when they photocopied and snail mailed to you, but is about 2 orders of magnitude overpriced for internet access. I find that when I do drag myself off to a physical library, I typically have to scan through 10 to 20 papers to find 1 that is worth reading in detail. The abstract is typically useless for determining the quality of the paper. Now do the sums, to find a couple of usable papers you will need to look through 20 to 40 papers, which at $35 a pop is going to cost you $700 to $1400. This meets no definition of open that I am aware of, and is a significant barrier to information access for a non university scientist. Even when you go to a physical library these days, you'l find they typically have only a small number of the journals you find yourself needing. This is because the majority of professionals already do all their journal research online.

  2. This article, untainted by reality, Cuckoo Cuckoo. on Hummer Greener Than Prius? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hmm let me see, I've had my Prius for 5 years and have driven 95000 miles, at a total cost of $308,750 or $61,750 per year. Either I'm a lot more wealthy than I thought, or Chris Demorro is a Cuckoo clock. I'm also not sure why I should feel guilty about Ontario not being able to regulate its mines. After all plenty of other suphide mines (for copper, lead, silver, zinc etc) seem to operate without causing this level of environmental damage.

  3. Re:you'll get answers on Global Warming Debunked? · · Score: 1

    I might also add the following red flags which don't add to his credibility. What sort of unit is a Watt per square meter per second? I suspect the usual confusion between power and energy. As writen it implies the sun is increasing heat output by 100% every hour, which is hopefully not true. The Stephan-Boltzmann law applies to a black body radiator, of which the earth is definitely not an example.