[GodGunsGuts]

Ping!

[UCANSEE2]

[Leonard210]

Warning!
Avert your eyes.
Do not read anything beyond this point.
The Christian Taliban is out to destroy you.
They use devious methods of mind control.
You are unable to resist them.
They will control you.
Be afraid. Be very afraid!
Don't Look, Don't Read, Don't Think.

[metmom]

The reference to "profit" draws attention to the purchase price of the fossil: reputed to be "a stunning $750,000". The reviewer was one of the signatories to a letter in Nature that expressed "[o]utrage at [the] high price paid for a fossil". When palaeontologists join the ranks of fossil traders, their integrity is suspect. As an Editorial in Nature said: "such arrangements introduce conflicting incentives that can all too easily undermine the process of the assessment and communication of science."

It's kind of ironic that creationists should be so maligned over their creation museums because of the money they make, with this sort of thing hanging over science's head, so to speak.

[metmom]

The big question is whether this represents the tip of an iceberg (and there is much more of this under the surface) or whether it is exceptional. In my assessment, the Ida-team has overstepped the mark but what they have done is not that unusual. Science does not have the objectivity that the textbooks claim. That is why it is essential to have vigorous debate within science.

There sure does seem to be a big difference between how science SHOULD work and how it DOES work, and sadly, some of the most adamant defenders of science don't seem to be able to distinguish between the two.

[ColdWater]

Science Literature A discussion of ID God-related Reading

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Let’s face it, palaeontology isn’t an exact science. Some would argue that it’s barely a science at all.

[count-your-change]

Of the the seamier side of Ida I have no problem understanding, a lot of money was spent and naturally some of it needed to be recouped in some fashion. And an excellent find can make or break careers. Look at the mileage put on “Lucy”.
But in the case of Ida the tsunami of hype for a very nice but not very scientifically important fossil was the seamy part not the money exchanging hands. It happens all the time and paleontologists/museums should figure how to accommodate the business side of their profession instead of pretending that money leaves a stain on their hands.