If you're going to do good science, release the computer code too

Re:If you're going to do good science, release the computer ... by smallblacksun on Monday February 08, 2010 @03:11PM (#1110547)

But the military and NASA don't claim to be generating reproducible knowledge through the use of their code. In particular, the military doesn't WANT other people to be able to reproduce what their code does. Also, there is a difference between operational code (code that runs a physical object like a lander or a UAV) and analytical code. NASA makes some of their code available here: http://opensource.arc.nasa.gov

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Re:If you're going to do good science, release the computer ... by lutorm on Monday February 08, 2010 @03:38PM (#1110618)

Cool, I didn't know about the NASA open source project.

You are right that knowledge production isn't the purpose of those other entities, of course. However, in my mind the purpose is less important than the outcome -- why is it more harmful to society if scientists produce a flawed scientific result than if the military kills innocents or the financial sector brings on a market crash because of flawed models? They all hurt society and could all benefit from more scrutiny. I admit the military case is a stretch, but certainly the financial sector seems like a relevant example.

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