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There's a reply that's dead, but I'd like to address it. It asked: "We have 25 years or so invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, w
by rpeden 9y ago
There's a reply that's dead, but I'd like to address it. It asked:
"We have 25 years or so invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it?"
That's a fair question, but my aim definitely isn't to try to find something wrong with the data. My aim is only to explore the data and find out what's right and what's wrong about my current understanding of the situation. I don't plan to blog about or even discuss the work I do.
- godshatter 9y agoAlso, isn't publishing something in order for others to "find something wrong with it" a core component of the scientific method?
- airza 9y agosure, but statistically someone who knows how to correctly interpret this data probably already has the academic communication channels to solicit it directly, so someone randomly asking for it online probably has an axe to grind
- rpeden 9y agoRight, which is why I thought it was a fair point for the original poster of the message to bring up. And it seems like there are lots of people with an axe to grind on this topic. I'm just looking to learn more for myself, and I decided to ask HN because I was having trouble deciding where to start. I realize it's tough to look at data on a complex topic without a thorough academic background in it. But I figure I'll never learn more if I don't at least get started.
- drewmol 9y agoThanks for explaining this, I would have thought the same: I'm a novice, looking for good climate data sets to analyze... asking HN could be a good place to start. Based on the feedback/links provided so far, I think it is!
- drewmol 9y agoBased on my interpretation, using that logic as a reason to withhold the data probably furthers the exclusionary/isolationist phenomenon that exists in modern academia already. Certainly people who are formally accredited to 'correctly interpret this data' are quantifiable, but without providing it to the non-credentialed as well we shouldn't draw statistical claims based on their ability to correctly analyze something they've been denied access to, or suppose their intentions as a reason to exclude access.
- reitanqild 9y agoExample: me I pride myself with being able to change my mind even on topics that I have been sure about since I was a kid. (Example: laws against drugs, -based on thoughful opinions by people here and possibly elsewhere I now think we would be better of if certain drugs were decriminalized.) On certain topics however like AGW or not there is still just a shouting match: flagging, downvoting, accusations ("sceptism is just another word for denier", "anyone who disagree is a paid shill", "questions are never real, it is the YAQ tactic") Luckily I've met some more reasonable folks at work that kindly answered my questions about data -with data- instead of flaming me. You see, people like me want data like metric tons of CO2 by source - not data about how many scientists have agreed.
- pjc50 9y ago> metric tons of CO2 by source Surprisingly hard to measure without controversy. You can take point measurements of atmospheric content and ocean cooncentration, but all sorts of things like melting permafrost outgassing have to be estimated.
- gd1 9y agoThe poster you refer to is referencing a Phil Jones quote