From buddy Thu Jan 13 11:44:22 1994
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 1994 21:38:08
Subject: A Key to Scientific Research Literature

A Key to Scientific Research Literature

"It has long been known that..."
  - I haven't bothered to look up the reference.

"While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these
questions..."
  - The experiment didn't work out, but I figured I could at
    least get a publication out of it.

"The W-PO system was chosen for detailed study..."
  - The lab next door already had some prepared.

"Three samples were chosen for detailed study..."
  - The results on the others didn't make sense and were ignored.

"Accidentally strained during mounting..."
  - Dropped on the floor.

"Handled with extreme care throughout the experiment..."
  - Not dropped on the floor.

"Typical results are shown..."
  - The best results are shown, i.e. those that fit the dogma.

Agreement with predicted curve:
   "Excellent"    = fair
   "Good"         = poor
   "Satisfactory" = Doubtful
   "Fair"         = Imaginary

"Correct within an order of magnitude..."
  - Wrong.

"Of great theoretical and practical importance..."
  - Interesting to me.

"It is suggested that... it is believed that... it appears that..."
  - I think.

"It is generally believed that..."
  - A couple of other people think so too.

"The most reliable results are those obtained by Jones..."
  - Jones was my graduate student.

"Fascinating work..."
  - Work by a member of our group.

"Of doubtful significance..."
  - Work done by someone else.