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>> Anti-Google research group in Washington is funded by Oracle Does it matter? Research is either legit or BS. That's all that matters, doesn't it?

Oletros 10y ago
At least, a watchdog that talks about accountability and transparency should be accountable and transparent and it seems that they are not. That casts a doubt about the intention and the results
hayksaakian 10y ago
who decides what to publish and what to shut down? hint: it's the people funding the research
gleenn 10y ago
I think the obvious question is how much research is it and how much is it just Oracle trying to give Google a hard time. A lot of people and/or press probably have a hard time distinguishing.
sigsergv 10y ago
Depends what one calls BS. Quick look at GTP-generated news gives impression that all covered topics are quite legal, but presentation looks FUDish. Like: “Google employees have enjoyed revolving door during Obama administration” [1] [1]: http://watchdog.org/265844/google-obama-revolving-door/ http://watchdog.org/265844/google-obama-revolving-door/
- adrianratnapala 10y ago
  FUDish as it might be, it gave people -- including us here at HN -- an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of such things. This is what democracy looks like.
hkmurakami 10y ago
Anything has a range of interpretations or "partial representation of the facts" that can be used to provide spin to a story. Narratives are powerful, and "independent research groups" can provide that (purposeful) narrative for their backers' gain.
andybak 10y ago
> Research is either legit or BS. That's all that matters, doesn't it? Yes but: 1. It's non-trivial to distinguish between the two 2. It's not a binary distinction. It could be 1%/99%, 99%/1% or anything inbetween. So - a useful heuristic for those of us who can't take a few months off to reproduce the study is to 'follow the money'.

Oletros 10y ago

At least, a watchdog that talks about accountability and transparency should be accountable and transparent and it seems that they are not. That casts a doubt about the intention and the results

hayksaakian 10y ago

who decides what to publish and what to shut down? hint: it's the people funding the research

gleenn 10y ago

I think the obvious question is how much research is it and how much is it just Oracle trying to give Google a hard time. A lot of people and/or press probably have a hard time distinguishing.

sigsergv 10y ago

Depends what one calls BS. Quick look at GTP-generated news gives impression that all covered topics are quite legal, but presentation looks FUDish. Like: “Google employees have enjoyed revolving door during Obama administration” [1] [1]: http://watchdog.org/265844/google-obama-revolving-door/ http://watchdog.org/265844/google-obama-revolving-door/

adrianratnapala 10y ago
FUDish as it might be, it gave people -- including us here at HN -- an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of such things. This is what democracy looks like.

hkmurakami 10y ago

Anything has a range of interpretations or "partial representation of the facts" that can be used to provide spin to a story. Narratives are powerful, and "independent research groups" can provide that (purposeful) narrative for their backers' gain.

andybak 10y ago

> Research is either legit or BS. That's all that matters, doesn't it? Yes but: 1. It's non-trivial to distinguish between the two 2. It's not a binary distinction. It could be 1%/99%, 99%/1% or anything inbetween. So - a useful heuristic for those of us who can't take a few months off to reproduce the study is to 'follow the money'.