Re: Patriarchy: Re: What Matriarchy?
William Edward Woody (woody@alumni.caltech.edu)
Tue, 20 Aug 1996 00:22:30 -0700
In article <32173FF3.4B64@megafauna.com>, steve@megafauna.com wrote:
> The Milikan oil-drop experiment measured the *charge* of the electron,
> not the *mass*.
>
> Otherwise, your point is well taken. Data-fudging -- even unconscious
> data-fudging -- in not uncommon. However, the career of any scientist
> whio is caught intentionally fudging data is over.
Energy, mass; what's the difference?
But the punch line is that people *knew* he fudged his data; just that
he was the biggest scientist on the block, so people tended to fall in
line behind him rather than kick him out of the "approved scientists"
club.
(But no-one could bring it to say publically that Milikan fudged
the data.)
It's just one of the more interesting examples of how presumptions
in science recks the experimental results.
- Bill
--
William Edward Woody | e-mail: woody@alumni.cco.caltech.edu
In Phase Consulting | WWW: http://www.alumni.caltech.edu/~woody
1545 Ard Eevin Ave | Fax: (818) 502-1467
Glendale, CA 91202 | ICBM: N:34.15' W:118.25'
|