Thursday, June 29, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Is this professor a leader?
I'm annoyed to see Professor Peter Hoj from the University of Queensland as the guest speaker at the National Press Club of Australia blabbering on about Australian research universities, while I know full well that he never did a proper job of investigating all of the research publications by discredited researchers Dr Caroline Barwood and Prof. Bruce Murdoch, who falsified an entire study of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a therapy for Parkinson's disease, no less. After this scandal broke into the headlines, Prof. Hoj claimed later that he checked all of the (other) studies by this pair:
"Mr Hoj says a review of about 100 studies published by Dr Barwood and Professor Murdoch has so far found no evidence of incorrect or non-existent data."
Prof. Hoj couldn't have done much of a job of checking. The 2010 journal research report titled "Improved language performance subsequent to low-frequency rTMS in patients with chronic non-fluent aphasia post-stroke" by the discredited researchers Barwood and Murdoch, and other researchers, is still published in full text displaying a very obvious discrepancy that looks like a clear indication that there's been some monkey business done with the data, a discrepancy that was pointed out at this blog way back in 2013 by Tomas, an anonymous commenter at this blog.
And today this Professor Hoj is speaking to the nation, as though he is some kind of leader in the world of science, universities, research and learning. Lili says "Horseshit".
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-07/uq-investigates-fresh-claims-of-research-misconduct/5077276
http://incorrectpleasures.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/you-cant-believe-everything-that-you.html
[See comments]
Monday, June 19, 2017
Lili's recommendation of the day
More fun for neurosexism and Baron-Cohen watchers in this new book about sexism and science:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/06/inferior-how-science-got-women-wrong-angela-saini-review-and-the-new-research-thats-rewriting-story
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Friday, June 16, 2017
The crisis in science continues.....
"I think predatory publishers pose the biggest threat to science since the Inquisition. They threaten research by failing to demarcate authentic science from methodologically unsound science, by allowing for counterfeit science, such as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to parade as if it were authentic science, and by enabling the publication of activist science."
More straight-talk from the world's most famous librarian (actually, the world's only famous librarian):
http://www.biochemia-medica.com/2017/2/273
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Lili's ponders the big questions
Why does hand sanitizer smell like fruit yoghurt, and why does fruit yoghurt smell like hand sanitizer?
Lili's next political thought of the day
Not sure why so many people thought it impossible that a gray-haired bloke who seems sincere could lead a labour party capably in a nation-wide election, maybe even succeeding much more than his predecessors. Something like this once happened in Australia.
Lili's thought of the day
An empty Comcar pulled up at Parliament House in Canberra, and when the door was opened, out stepped Bill Shorten.