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Re: [sdpd] New poll for sdpd
>I can't respond to this poll because I don't think the question is a
>reasonable one, nor are the alternatives offered sufficient
Any member can propose a poll on this mailing list, and more
alternatives are possible. But the question has to be precise. The
question could have been similar by replacing "software" by "human" :
Would you fully trust (without verifying by yourself) a space group
proposed from powder diffraction data by a human being ?
And alternative answers may have been :
Always,
Yes if Robin Shirley or etc,
Never.
In theory, science is not a matter of polls. In practice you may
need expert advices because >1000000 scientific texts are
published per year, all scrutinized by reviewers (=2 experts only).
How reviewers can let publish > 50 algorithms for Kalpha-2
elimination is a mystery for me. A poll could ask to users which
Kalpha-2 algorithm elimination they prefer among the 50 published,
and this could be a good information for beginners.
Just an example more. If a beginner finds an article published
in "Advances in X-Ray Analysis" in wich it is said "The
deconvolution treatment is a very powerful tool for improving
the angular resolution", he may conclude : "wow, no need for
a synchrotron", when looking at the original powder pattern
and at the deconvoluted one, presenting FWHMs 10 times
smaller...
Because the reviewers accepted that paper, a poll
would be useful... (I may send the full reference on demand ;-).
Being published is not sufficient proof (nor are polls), such is Science.
Best,
Armel Le Bail
http://www.cristal.org/course/
PS - Even from single crystal data, I prefer to have a look
myself, not trusting any software. That step is absolutely
crucial : wasting days or weeks is the consequence of an error.
So, what need for a software if you always need to verify
manually ?
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