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Fudging the data in any way whatsoever is quite literally a sin against the holy ghost of science. I'm not religious, but I put it that way because I feel so strongly. It's the one thing you do not ever do. You've got to have standards.
James Lovelock
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Manipulating data undermines the integrity of scientific inquiry.

In this quote, James Lovelock emphasizes the moral imperative of maintaining honesty and integrity in scientific research. He likens the manipulation of data to a profound moral wrong, suggesting that adherence to standards is essential for the credibility and reliability of scientific work.

Themes

DataIntegrityScienceStandardsHonesty

In practice

Example use cases

In a conference on scientific ethics, you can quote this to emphasize the importance of data integrity.

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We are in a fool's climate, accidentally kept cool by smoke, and before this century is over billions of us will die and the few breeding pairs of people that survive will be in the Arctic where the climate remains tolerable.
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By 2040, the Sahara will be moving into Europe and Berlin will be as hot as Baghdad. Atlanta will end up a kudzu jungle. Phoenix will become uninhabitable, as will parts of Beijing (desert), Miami (rising seas) and London (floods). Food shortages will drive millions of people north, raising political tensions.
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