tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post8840024509549748391..comments2023-11-28T09:02:03.742+01:00Comments on The Seneca Effect: When Science Speaks in Tongues: The Unstoppable Rise of Gibberish Ugo Bardihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-43348397202056236802021-11-16T03:38:56.518+01:002021-11-16T03:38:56.518+01:00Interesting link. I haven't translated yet, bu...Interesting link. I haven't translated yet, but your message came thru clearly. Art Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-3774414672610936842021-11-16T01:53:56.118+01:002021-11-16T01:53:56.118+01:00Just a bit of a humorous taste of a wordspinner al...Just a bit of a humorous taste of a wordspinner algorithm is on a delightful art of science fiction type site .Attempt to link<br />https://thrilling-tales.webomator.com/derange-o-lab/title-o-tron.shtml#titleotronArt Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-9102487075756913892021-11-15T00:11:26.488+01:002021-11-15T00:11:26.488+01:00I'm very happy this issue is finally being cov...I'm very happy this issue is finally being covered here. I've heard Ugo mention a few times how “science is disappearing”, as magic was in some Ursula K. LeGuin story, and I was wondering if the long explanation were ever going to come.<br />At the moment I’m working for a science institution as an engineer developing equipment for space research. I’m not a scientist myself (making toys is much more funny than writing papers), but I’ve seen enough of them not to have too much respect. Postmodern individuals (sophists) naturally take the higher ranks. As I see my work and the institution more and more pointless, I’m working my way off as a highschool teacher, so I’m back at university as a student to get the degree I’ll need. <br />Now, as a future science teacher, I’m being told how science research works and, of course, I feel the teachers are clueless about how research works. They talk about the risk of money biasing research, some women discrimination (it’s trending topic now, so they have to cover it), but it’s sad to see how they hardly scratch the surface. Please, include as many interesting links as you can, both article and comments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-45080127345729646482021-11-14T23:57:07.078+01:002021-11-14T23:57:07.078+01:00¡ Qué casualidad ! Tom Murphy, avanza en su último...¡ Qué casualidad ! Tom Murphy, avanza en su último post interesantes ideas sobre estos asuntos. En su blog Do the Math. ¡ Tienen un PLAN !<br />https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2021/11/finally-a-plan/Patxi U.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11746017008140682904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-5926365602600893842021-11-14T18:55:43.925+01:002021-11-14T18:55:43.925+01:00So 5 papers a minute hitting the inbox and a decen...So 5 papers a minute hitting the inbox and a decent peer review process that takes a couple months per paper. Might be a problem keeping up... 😆 Art Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-78885536583806593922021-11-14T18:33:03.374+01:002021-11-14T18:33:03.374+01:00Good old Justinian! Good old Justinian! Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-7734008578602776062021-11-14T18:32:31.908+01:002021-11-14T18:32:31.908+01:00Maybe they really read my blog. 80 articles retrac...Maybe they really read my blog. 80 articles retracted during the past 3 days!! https://retractionwatch.com/2021/11/14/publisher-retracts-nearly-80-articles-over-three-days/ <br /><br />The problem is that the rhythm of publication is about 5 papers PER MINUTE!!! Hard time for the checking AIUgo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-56442969601484857112021-11-14T17:09:12.411+01:002021-11-14T17:09:12.411+01:00Hello Ugo. Most of those junk papers have been ta...Hello Ugo. Most of those junk papers have been taken down with editorial comments that say they were "nonsensical" and got past peer review. Maybe someone from Springer reads your blog as well as Mr. Gates 😆 Those "word spinner" programs used to be pretty common on the web for SEO use, maybe they still are, but Google seems to be better at catching and deindexing that kind of content.Art Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-40033331127244798582021-11-14T03:43:04.386+01:002021-11-14T03:43:04.386+01:00I agree with Justinian, if I was emperor I would o...I agree with Justinian, if I was emperor I would only allow acronyms in any text after they had been written in full at least 3 times with acronym shown.crybabyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08886096720023313685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-26213328318757942812021-11-13T23:57:22.257+01:002021-11-13T23:57:22.257+01:00I thought it was standard practice with acronyms t...I thought it was standard practice with acronyms to use whole words for the first use and then put the acronym in parentheses after them. No matter how common the acronym, the first use should be whole words. If used in a book, it's nice to repeat the process with every chapter or, even better, have an acronym glossary at the front or back of the book. Published Acronyms Should Always Be Explained (PASABE). Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01251330546889158364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-12131284710524550712021-11-13T18:39:09.444+01:002021-11-13T18:39:09.444+01:00Push that same approach hard and you get lots of h...Push that same approach hard and you get lots of hits on obscure keywords that the AI reading the papers will index on and 'poof' ... another unique contribution to the sum of human knowledge !Art Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-62171223657925568112021-11-13T14:01:30.186+01:002021-11-13T14:01:30.186+01:00It is not only Science - the Media, Literature, Ec...<b>It is not only Science - the Media, Literature, Economics, Academia, Law, Arts, History, Military, Industry - all became hocus-pocus. <br />The Civilisation that is ending up today a Syringe-Factory must have confiscated Science long ago, turning it like all other fields - a Gibberish, too...</b><br /><br />One colossal mistake our Western Civilisation has committed, forcing all fossil fuels-rich nations giving up their resources - not on the basis the resources are finite - has destroyed the chemistry of sane humanity.<br /><br />Knocking down one and only one parameter - the sense of scarcity, built by nature in the DNA of humanity - by our Western Civilisation - has played havoc with the future of humanity.<br /><br />Science needed to intervene against the Social Engineer, when the world's population has been a couple of billions - at max. <br /><br />Actually, Science honestly did - read the 1860s' Jevons... <br /><br /><b>Today we are ending up a paralysed Syringe-Civilisation obsessed with people bodies</b>, almost no fossil fuels left for the masses - but our Social Engineer still preferring to play the <a href="https://the-fifth-law.com/pages/the-peak-oil-musical-chairs%E2%84%A2-calculator?ugo=https://thesenecaeffect.blogspot.com/2021/11/when-science-speaks-in-tongues-how.html" rel="nofollow">Energy Musical Chairs Game</a>.<br /><br />Wailing. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-33805695992684630742021-11-13T02:08:50.561+01:002021-11-13T02:08:50.561+01:00Goran:
I agree completely, I walked away from &qu...Goran:<br /><br />I agree completely, I walked away from "science' in 2007 and have never regretted the decision. When folks find out about my background and asked me why I am working as a middle-tier bureaucrat with no responsibilities, I merely tell them "I got tired of being a whore".<br /><br />John (Ph.D, Sci.D)Degringoladehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11893964959960977677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-42620599639153610392021-11-12T21:12:03.582+01:002021-11-12T21:12:03.582+01:00Me permito reponer los dos últimos párrafos, que p...Me permito reponer los dos últimos párrafos, que pueden resultar ilegibles. <br /><br />( Por cierto, las patentes solicitadas por científicas son rechazadas en mayor medida que las que presentan sus colegas masculinos )<br /><br />¡ Qué tiempos aquellos en que los grandes científicos reconocían que sus logros se debían en gran parte a que cabalgaban “a hombros de gigantes” !<br /><br />Y un colofón:<br /><br />La restricción del conocimiento ( por parte del oligopolio de las revistas ) y su apropiación privada ( con las patentes ) son de las cosas más anticientíficas que puedan existir.<br /><br />( Y última) <br />Creo que los sistemas de publicación científica abiertos son cada vez más eficientes. Las instituciones y universidades públicas deberían apostar sin reservas por ellos hasta que se restablezcan las oportunidades de acceso público y general al conocimiento. Mientras tanto, porqué deberíamos renunciar a la piratería. <br />Patxi U.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11746017008140682904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-73531538604146330372021-11-12T20:41:54.910+01:002021-11-12T20:41:54.910+01:00El caso que citas dice más de la calidad de la rev...El caso que citas dice más de la calidad de la revista que la de los supuestos científicos ( Algunas investigaciones parecen merecedoras del Ignobel ). Con la ingente demanda de publicar, hacerlo en el oligopolio de las revistas top es muy difícil y muy caro. Así que será fácil generar una oferta que satisfaga a tanto investigador necesitado. En ese mercado podrán encontrarse tanto ( algunos ) científicos limitados o sin escrúpulos con (ciertas) editoriales corruptas. <br /> <br />Cinco grupos empresariales controlan la inmensa mayoría del mercado, con lo que ya no sólo debemos fiarnos de lo que los científicos producen, si no también de lo que las editoriales seleccionan y difunden. <br /><br />Lo de publicar es problemático, pero lo de las patentes tampoco está mal. Cierto que se protegen las inversiones, pero cuando la protección es desmedida producen efectos perversos. <br /><br />¿ Pueden imponerse patentes inasequibles a fármacos que salvarían las vidas de mucha gente si pudieran acceder a un medicamento genérico, menos protegido?<br /><br />Ciertamente, recuperar la inversión más algún beneficio es la primera intención de los inversores en ciencia. También, cada vez más, en las instituciones y universidades públicas. <br /><br />Pero esa cara interesante del mercado se ensombrece cuando se comprueba que obstruyen la innovación y oponen barreras de entrada infranqueables a terceros interesados en explorar ese ámbito. <br /><br />( Por cierto, las patentes solicitadas por científicas son rechazadas en mayor medida que las que presentan sus colegas masculinos )<br /><br />¡ Qué tiempos aquellos en que los grandes científicos reconocían que sus logros se debían en gran parte a que cabalgaban “a hombros de gigantes” !<br />Patxi U.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11746017008140682904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-66350892698946869362021-11-12T18:19:14.323+01:002021-11-12T18:19:14.323+01:00Did you know that Byzantine Emperor Justinian bann...Did you know that Byzantine Emperor Justinian banned the use of acronyms because they became so confusing in public life and legal documents. There was hundreds of them in use in 6th century. In Latin acronyms were called "sigla". Ivan Lukichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03921382989214812867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-71291532041442395202021-11-12T15:21:10.369+01:002021-11-12T15:21:10.369+01:00You mean, "What *we* deserve.", right?
...You mean, "What *we* deserve.", right? <br /><br />I have also published in obscure journals like International Journal of Robotics Research. For better or for worse, I moved out of academia before I had to write obfuscated papers. In my naïve youth, I actually wanted people to read what I at the time thought were genius insights... ;) <br />Nevertheless, my academic title will allow me to join the ranks of lamp-post decoration. <br /><br />However, I have seen the same things happening inside several multinational corporations, especially among the priesthood of marketing and IT. Internal project proposals can overflow of platitudes. I am sure you have heard of bulls***-bingo? <br /><br />As David Graeber called our era of "Managerial feudalism", the content is much less important than the form. The loyalty upwards, giving prestige to your boss and institution, is more important than delivering anything of "value". Keeping the boss happy allows you to sit at the table and split the loot and share the crumbs.<br /><br />I think that is why almost all innovation comes from small companies that are not yet corrupted this way. The ideas/products/concepts/companies are then acquired by the giants and globally rolled out. <br />Ten years ago I hired 20 engineers and scientists to work in a commercial R&D center, and it was very interesting to look at output vs. education. The more education, and the more elite university, the less useful output. But far higher salary expectations...<br />I don't know if anyone else has had the same experience? <br /><br />I recommend my children to first get a real education (plumber, electrician, farmer) before (if ever) going to college. <br /><br />Maybe a next post about the corruption in science, "the price of a paper"? Here in Holland there are a number of well-documented corporate purchased "scientific" papers from University of Wageningen and University of Rotterdam, that have been used to push political decisions. "Evidence based" decisions...<br />I think the fraud/scam-area is where the exposed rot will first lead to demonstrations with banners like "Defund the University".<br />I think that the junk papers in (expensive!) journals is more of a waste/noise problem for the still-honest researchers inside the system. <br /><br />Goran (PhD)<br />Göranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02375637941166085188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-17623406861366808622021-11-12T14:49:56.774+01:002021-11-12T14:49:56.774+01:00Ugo,
The same thing is obvious in contemporary ar...Ugo,<br /><br />The same thing is obvious in contemporary art too. It was Giulio Carlo Argan who first made a distinction between "working art" and "being artist". Everybody can work art, it's enough for a person to just buy paper and paints. But being artist requires artistic mind, which is rare. The problem here is that both science and art became forms of industry which is destroying both science and art. It's now mass production, like industrial mass production. And we all know that there is not many great industrially made products. Most are made to last short time and be replaced by another product. Science and education are now subject to the principles of "economy of scale". Publish or perish is simply ruining science, removing the last traces of relevance. Ivan Lukichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03921382989214812867noreply@blogger.com