Monthly Archives: November 2010

The Original Red Queen’s Hypothesis

Posted on November 30, 2010 by rpg

Leigh Van Valen (who died last month) is well known for being an original thinker. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the only way he could publish his most famous idea was to start a journal to print it … Continue reading →

Posted in Research Blogging | 2 Comments

Rates of Scientific Fraud Retractions

Posted on November 17, 2010 by rpg

Ivan Oransky on his Retraction Watch blog pointed to a paper by R. Grant Steen looking at numbers of retraction and whether they were due to fraud or error. Ivan pointed to a news item on The Great Beyond by … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Publishing, Statistics, The Society of Science | 11 Comments

(Ice) Hockey Pool, Week 6

Posted on November 15, 2010 by rpg

Most of you can look away, either because you’re not involved in the Hockey Pool Cath Ennis set up, or because you’re below Cath in the standings.

Posted in Silliness | 6 Comments

Could Libel Law Stop Science?

Posted on November 15, 2010 by rpg

So, this week some of us wrote about the problems of English (and Welsh) libel law. At the same time, a couple of new incidents of scientists falling foul of the libel laws were given publicity in the British press. … Continue reading →

Posted in The Society of Science | 10 Comments

Why Libel Needs to be Reformed

Posted on November 10, 2010 by rpg

This week is the first anniversary of the report Free Speech is Not for Sale, which highlighted the oppressive nature of English libel law. In short, the law is extremely hostile to writers, while being unreasonably friendly towards powerful corporations … Continue reading →

Posted in Silliness, The Society of Science | 3 Comments