tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34480619.post7004779415193068451..comments2024-03-11T13:47:03.621-05:00Comments on Physics and Physicists: The Problem With Doing Science Via Public MediaZapperZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15861398273820851809noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34480619.post-23363460603599114652014-06-24T15:11:17.456-05:002014-06-24T15:11:17.456-05:00Yeah, from an outsider's POV, it sure seems li...Yeah, from an outsider's POV, it sure seems like there was no need to have a big press fanfare prior to peer review of the paper. Even if they were trying to establish some kind of priority over the Planck team, the media circus seemed way more than was necessary (or perhaps warranted, depending on how this turns out). I mean, suppose they're right - would their chances at a Nobel really have been weakened by waiting for the paper to be accepted before talking extensively to the press?Douglas Natelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340091255404229559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34480619.post-11928710738987490522014-06-21T14:09:17.402-05:002014-06-21T14:09:17.402-05:00Having been part of several large international ph...Having been part of several large international physics collaborations I can assure you that the push for doing press releases before publication comes not from PR people but from the physicists themselves. Ultimately, the audience that matters here are policymakers and funding agency personnel. A press release means that mainstream press articles will get written and when it comes time to ask for money, we physicists can show off that our work "even made the mainstream press." While I agree that it would be great if we could wait until after peer-review, the reality is that the higher-ups in these collaborations want "significant" results to get publicity as soon as they are made public and that is often before the peer-review process is completed. BAJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02142816240114762825noreply@blogger.com