Which is why releasing their code is critical. They lay it all out for you, with their pride/reputation on the line if it produces 'just random crap'. Writing e

Which is why releasing their code is critical. They lay it all out for you, with their pride/reputation on the line if it produces 'just random crap'. Writing exhaustive unit tests is probably not something they are good at, nor is it a requirement for them, nor is it the best use of their time. I too know first hand that students and even academics who aren't properly trained and given the right tooling will write prototype code that's not production ready. Occasionally there's even a bona fide mistake, though usually it's just very un-generalizable. It's part of my job to make some of it more production ready. That's the best use of my time and training. Conversely, I'm shit at generating useful research ideas or writing papers. Just don't have the right combination of intuition/training/experience. Good thing my academic institution has the resources to employ them and me.