Science

Overly honest methods in science

Funny (and sometimes scary) justification for choice and application of methods, posted on Twitter. Emphasis is on experiments and biology, but some tweets extend beyond that. Collection is not complete because it is a long.running and extended discussion, but I try to keep pace.

  1. #OverlyHonestMethods The ultracentrifuge was run at 10,000 rpm because setting it higher trips the circuit breaker.
  2. The effects of TOR pathway disruption in C. elegans were not explored further bc that shit's lethal & I don't wanna #OverlyHonestMethods
  3. Apparently a full microfuge tube rocking on a cold-room rocker is universal for "shut it off, it's not important" #overlyhonestmethods
  4. There was a 20 hour incubation between centrifugations because the centrifuge broke down during the night #overlyhonestmethods
  5. We don't know how this method was performed because the PhD student's lab book is written in Chinese. #OverlyHonestMethods
  6. Western blots are not included because the machine short circuited and burnt itself and all of my membranes #overlyhonestmethods
  7. As long as being overlyhonest... previous tweet should've read "wine, cheese, The Bachelor, powerpoint #overlyhonestmethods"
  8. Data was analyzed and graphed in MS Excel because the lab ran out of SPSS and Sigma Plot licenses. #overlyhonestmethods
  9. February 6
  10. ran reaction in toluene instead of benzene because the bottle of benzene looked older than my advisor #overlyhonestmethods
  11. I used these statistical measures because I didn't know how to change the default settings in my data analysis software #overlyhonestmethods
  12. There was a strange gunk in the bottom of the tubes, but we used them anyway because they still worked #overlyhonestmethods
  13. Butterflies are important indicators of climate change impacts, but mostly they're just pretty #OverlyHonestMethods
  14. Prepared slides were used when the slides looked wrong b/c the TA forgot to peel the plastic film off the cover slips. #overlyhonestmethods
  15. Just seen a pair of undergrads try and use a vortexer as a centrifuge. #OverlyHonestMethods
  16. lecturers picking out and presenting only the pretty results "because they look nicer on the slides" #overlyhonestmethods
  17. We used the old version of the analysis software because newest version was so buggy it wouldn't run without crashing. #overlyhonestmethods
  18. So then I switched focus, because my advisor ran out of funding and I had to jump on a different grant. #overlyhonestmethods
  19. The reaction was complete when the compound changed to green & the crazy Russian postdoc said it tasted 'OK' #OverlyHonestMethods
  20. February 5
  21. Tubes left to incubate for as long as it takes me to reply to a text message. #overlyhonestmethods
  22. We only surveyed students because we could stand in the classroom and glower at them until they completed it. #OverlyHonestMethods
  23. my PI wasnt happy with the results of our lab over the last 3 weeks so he scheduled a lab meeting for Saturday, 10PM. #overlyhonestmethods

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Ingo Rohlfing

Politikwissenschaftler und Juniorprof. für Vergleichende Sozialforschung (Uni Köln) mit Interesse an Parteienwettbewerb, Parteiorganisationen und Methoden

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