4 ms·
SIDE-ISSUE ALERT! The article ends with the statement "The author declares no competing interests". I think this is very poor phrasing, as it's ambiguous: does
by MikeTaylor 5y ago
SIDE-ISSUE ALERT!
The article ends with the statement "The author declares no competing interests". I think this is very poor phrasing, as it's ambiguous: does it mean "The author has not declared any competing interests", or "The author has positively declared that there are no competing interests"?
(To be clear, I am not for a moment suggesting any hidden interests on the part of the author, and I think his point is both correct and important. It's only the wording that I dislike.)
- timr 5y agoThis is a stock phrase used by the journal. The author didn't write the words, he just checked a box on a form.
- gameshot911 5y agoTo me it's not ambiguous - it means the latter.
- mechanical_bear 5y agoThis is some bike shedding of the top tier variety.