Translated material
Klokin, he is Nikolov
Scientists changed their names to publish an article on global warming: The Washington Post
In August 2016, the ADVANCES in Space Research scientific magazine published an article by researchers Den Klokin and Lark Reellis on global warming. Scientists argued that although the climate of the Earth is really changing, the role of man in these changes is not at all as noticeable as is commonly believed. Velokin and Relles confirmed their hypothesis with the help of a mathematical model, which made the planet temperature dependent on solar radiation and the composition of the atmosphere. A month later, the article was withdrawn: it turned out that scientists published it under fictional names, fearing that it diverges too much with the established opinion of the scientific community. The Washington Post tells about this story.
The article by Dan Dolokin and Lark Realsh “The latest model of calculating the average surface temperature of rocky planets with various atmospheres” was published in the August issue of the ADVANCES in Space Research reviewed magazine. In fifty -page work, scientists described a mathematical model that allows you to determine the temperature of the planets based on only two variables - solar radiation and atmospheric pressure. According to the authors, the model successfully worked when calculating the temperature of Mars, Venus, Moon and Earth.
In the case of the Earth, they approved Khlokin and Relosis, the results meant "a revolution in understanding the processes of global warming." If calculations based on solar radiation and atmospheric pressure allow you to obtain the correct temperature of the Earth, it means that the influence of a person on the temperature of the planet strives for zero (calculations are true, despite the fact that people's activities are not taken into account).
As it turned out a month later, the authors decided to publish their revolutionary research under pseudonyms. The fact is that their past works, which questioned the role of a person in global warming, brought scientists the glory of “climatic skeptics” - while, according to The Washington Post, the American scientific community is 97 percent confident that global warming is caused by human activity.
The authors of the work feared that their reputation would become an obstacle to the publication of the study - publishers of specialized magazines would look for their surnames on the Internet, stumble upon past work (as well as their subsequent discussion in the blogosphere by other skeptics) and refuse to accept the article. At the same time, pseudonyms have chosen transparent - so that, if necessary, it is always possible to prove the authorship of the revolutionary theory. Therefore, they simply wrote their real names - Ned Nikolov and Karl Zeler - backwards.
The idea was a success, and the article was published. However, the authors' trick opened a month later - and the editors of Advances in Space Research had to withdraw an article. Now on the page it is reported that the publication has been recalled by agreement with the authors and for reasons not related to the scientific value of the work.
The opinion of the scientific community regarding the study was divided. Someone believes that in the work of Dena Klokin and Lark Releza describes a truly interesting model, someone, for example, NASA researcher Gavin Schmidt-that this is an exercise to adjust the data for the necessary graphs.
“A hint is for everyone who denies global warming: when you rent your charlatan articles for publication - write your names on the contrary, then no one will guess,” Schmidt wrote on September 12.
The authors of the work, however, are difficult to definitely call charlatans. NENLOOV NIKOLOV is a physicist, and Karl Zeler is a meteorologist; In the past, they both worked in the US Federal Forestry. Initially, Nikolov adhered to generally accepted views on the nature of global warming, but in 2009 - after the " climate " - changed his point of view. The publication by hackers of documents testifying to the tendential selection of facts in the study of changes in the earth's climate pushed Nikolov to conduct his own research-from the perspective of a physicist. At the same time, Nikolov does not consider himself a “climatic skeptic” - after all, he does not deny that the climate of the planet is changing.
Most of The Washington Post have agreed that it was not worth publishing an article under fictional names. Julian Reiss, who studies the philosophy of science and the problems of objectivity at the University of Damage, notes that the names of the authors and their belonging to one or another institution allow readers to evaluate the arguments they put forward (English).