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- From: tjfeue@bb1t.monsanto.com
- Newsgroups: sci.research,sci.research.careers
- Subject: Re: Dr. Fabrikant and honesty in science
- Message-ID: <1992Aug27.132822.4428@bb1t.monsanto.com>
- Date: 27 Aug 92 19:28:22 GMT
- References: <16337@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
- Organization: Monsanto Company, St. Louis, MO
- Lines: 62
-
- In article <16337@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>, JRBANGA@poppy.ucdavis.edu (JULIO RODRIGUEZ BANGA) writes:
- >
- > I can't believe it. I read Dr Fabrikant's postings yesterday. Last night,
- > while having dinner, I saw in the News what we already know it happened. At
- > first, I thought he could be other scientist, but this morning I've
- > discovered he wasn't.
- >
- > So I guess that Dr Fabrikant, a well known and outstanding researcher, is
- > going to jail for killing two of his colleagues. I don't have enough data to
- > be sure if everything in Dr. Fabrikant's postings was true.
-
- He was ranting like a lunatic. Much of what he said may have been
- the exaggerations of a paranoid. Consider his argument that some people
- had been co-authors on his papers and didn't even know what the paper
- was about. *I* have been co-author of a few papers that *I* didn't even
- know about. I was asked for help in a problem and contributed (presumably
- to the author) enough to be included as an "et al". If you found some of
- those papers and asked me about them, I'd probably give you serously
- blank looks. Maybe he did the same thing and then in his paranoia
- "forgot" about why and it simply strengthened his delusion. Even if
- everything was true, it doesn't justify cold blooded murder. Besides,
- he didn't even get the people that he was complaining about. I don't
- think that he really cared. My mother is a Clinical Psycologist and
- I intend to send her all the material for review. Facinating stuff.
-
- However, just because you're paranoid... Doesn't mean that they're
- not out to get you. ;-)
-
- > However, I must
- > say that the description he gave of his bosses is quite familiar to me (though
- > I have NOT suffered a situation like that myself) and, I think, for many
- > scientists around the world.
-
- Although I have also seen "slave labor" in academia, my personal feeling is
- that if someone doesn't like how they are treated, go somewhere else rather
- than giving the perpertrator positive reenforcement by staying and working
- for them. I have a very low tolerance for abuse.
-
- > That is, I have friends in certain universities who have suffered or are
- > suffering exploitation of the same type as the one related by Dr. Fabrikant.
- > How frequent is this situation?
-
- Probably very frequent. Free labor is attractive to most people.
-
- > What is happening to ethics in science?
-
- Who say's there ever was any? ;-)
-
- > Peer review is supposed to assure a minimum of scientific level in
- > publications. Maybe it's time that referees should also find out who is (are)
- > the real author(s) of a paper before it is published.
-
- Good idea.
-
- > Any comments?
-
- Sad, sad story.
-
- TED FEUERBACH Scientific Systems Consultant Trilogy Consulting, Inc.
- Lake St. Louis, MO (314) 537-6603 tjfeue@bb1t.monsanto.com
- Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are MY OWN and obviously not
- the opinions of Trilogy, Monsanto or either of my two ex-wives.
-