Scientific reputations

Makes you realize why scientists are so chary about making any claims about life on Mars. In this environment you play your cards close to your chest:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7261407/

Thanks for posting that link, from the perspective of a scientist, the following statements are profound:

Your success as a scientist depends upon your reputation — your reputation for caution, your reputation for correctness, for publishing the truth, for not making claims you can’t substantiate. If your reputation gets tarnished then that affects your ability to be competitive in the scientific community.”

A scientist must successfully compete in order to survive, Stoker explains. “You compete for your funding, for your salary, for example, the salary of your staff,” she says. “You make applications to do projects, you write proposals, they get reviewed by panels of your peers, you pass or fail.....

So, maybe these quotes help a few understand why former posters on this blog became so aggravated at times attempting to discuss science, in a generally accepted science manner, with others. But, that said, we all know going in this is not a science format and any absurd statement gets posted.

Mars is a bone bed. Everyone needs to get over it and let's see the monsters.

The problem is that a lot of "science journalists" are pretty science illiterate and work to very close deadlines and so sometimes the scientists don't get to check what will be printed... and then there ones who just want to sensationalize. My experience with journalists has however been very positive. Sometimes they just print your press release with their name attached...

Hello I dont know what this is but HI

this reminds me of the hockey stick graph for the global warming senario. Playing with numbers while excluding others to acheive a desired result is bad science.

Arizona,

I'd rather argue the absurd then watch a bunch of formal scientists call a press conference and gloat over how to lie to the public.

And nobody can "argue the absurd" like you RW.

By following scientific methods laid out in the contents of the msnbc article, NASA may someday announce your "bone bed" on Mars. Feel welcome to hold your breath as we wait.....

There are more than bones. There are rocks which like the sunshine.

NASA has a saying after an accident ... "Lock the doors." Which simply means don't comment or speculate. We accidentally found life on Mars.

The plague first announced [here,] and underlined and extended on [May 2,] are keys to another kind of door.

Remember the number four St. NASA.

Timing gentlemen, is everything, when God gets involved ...

"Like a plague of locusts shall calamity fall upon the NASArites, eating away at every piece of equipment under their control. Flukes shall become much more than [a whale's tail.] Coincidence, many times the toss of a coin, and you will know that it was the Creator of all things that has sent you this plague." - [May 2, 2007 - Post #4]

[Inspection shows tile gouge almost reaches shuttle skin - 8-13-07]

Aw! Bad luck. Keep trying and eventually you'll get a prophecy right one of these days. Hurricanes are quite a sure bet at the moment because of increased sea temperatures caused by anthropogenic global warming. Eventually a hurricane is bound to affect some of NASA's facilities in Texas or Florida, so it''s a pretty sure bet.

Ever since the ocean temperature differential increased above an SST of 0.5 degrees C (about 1994), the incidence of severe storms in the Caribbean has increased, and it's not going to get better any time soon.

It's quite easy to recognise the hand of mankind in this.

Keep trying! The odds are in your favour.

Sarkozy a raison ...

["One, for each of her wings. To the state of confusion, I send the torrential bee."] - May 11, 2007

Arizona St, re:1

"generally accepted science manner"

The result of scientific mutual censorship is, that overtime pseudoscience has had hijacked science.

You can look anywhere: Physics, Computer Science, Philosophy, Nanotech, etc.

The fear of falling in disrepute is very strong among the science publishers also, so they hide behind the peer review...

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