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Monckton Alerts World to NASA Conspiracy, Cures Common Cold

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SixDegrees2/03/2010 1:46:17 pm PST

re: #78 Charles

I don’t know that anyone is claiming Mann is guilty of any wrongdoing. But Lawhawk is correct to point out that the profession needs to police itself better. Snarky emails, sloppy data maintenance processes, unprofessional comments in code, references to non-peer reviewed articles gleaned from advocacy groups and investigations into professional misconduct may not prove the science is wrong, but they all serve to damage the credibility of the scientists in the field and the results they present. Having them pile one on top of the other in rapid succession gives the appearance of carelessness, or worse, regardless of the quality of the results themselves.

There definitely needs to be more stringent adherence to simple professionalism. Part of being a professional is managing appearances - because appearances matter, whether people want to accept that or not.