tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post3566462320236287626..comments2024-03-27T21:23:40.339-04:00Comments on Chemjobber: Is this post literally true?Chemjobberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-8483148580518301932013-12-05T10:54:12.923-05:002013-12-05T10:54:12.923-05:00But James, you're cherry picking - think of al...But James, you're cherry picking - think of all the times you also hear about traders and soldiers making truly terrible decisions with incomplete information. It's just a case of doing the best with what you have - sometimes less is more. Although some of us have the luxury of time to acquire more data, others don't - like you said, having all the information doesn't necessarily lead to better decisionsPhilliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027906511764488130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-34789609895099300822011-01-12T20:22:30.340-05:002011-01-12T20:22:30.340-05:00I'm always amazed by descriptions of traders a...I'm always amazed by descriptions of traders and soldiers who have to make extremely important decisions in a split second with imperfect information. Chemists are basically at the other end of the spectrum from that. The humbling thing is how often, even with near-perfect information, we still get things wrong. It gives one a healthy contempt for expressions of certainty.Jameshttp://masterorganicchemistry.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-37199921184860565462011-01-12T14:11:25.409-05:002011-01-12T14:11:25.409-05:00Sharon, I don't really know any stats on chemi...Sharon, I don't really know any stats on chemists and religion. I assume that they're going to be not too different than scientists overall. I suspect that chemists will be slightly less irreligious than biologists, but I dunno.Chemjobberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15932113680515602275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-9767512404545199412011-01-11T16:38:44.937-05:002011-01-11T16:38:44.937-05:00As a synthetic chemist you learn to resent wishful...As a synthetic chemist you learn to resent wishful thinking and salesmanship. You are on lookout for discrepancies. Chemicals behave in ways that are self-consistent and explicable. Weird results are a sign that you do not control/do not understand some important factor.milkshakehttp://orgprepdaily.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-10931126627134532742011-01-11T16:17:09.555-05:002011-01-11T16:17:09.555-05:00Love the quote from Cryptonomicon. Read it a while...Love the quote from Cryptonomicon. Read it a while back- Great book.Th' Gausslinghttp://gaussling.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-23024654790146127822011-01-11T10:34:38.284-05:002011-01-11T10:34:38.284-05:00Not to get controversial, but do you know any stat...Not to get controversial, but do you know any stats on religious beliefs in chemists? Because such beliefs certainly require accepting that you can't know every detail.Sharonhttp://icanhasscience.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8964719845369935777.post-45663964942669525462011-01-11T09:06:57.272-05:002011-01-11T09:06:57.272-05:00I distinctly remember a group meeting a few years ...I distinctly remember a group meeting a few years back where we took apart every step of a catalytic cycle to see where the problem was in my coworkers' data. We eventually tracked it down to trace water in a co-catalyst that was promoting a different pathway. Took us about 3 hours.<br /><br />That said, I understand how a middle manager in pharma might not care, past the "when will it be done?" question!See Arr Ohnoreply@blogger.com