Last few months, I had undergone lots of emotional turbulence with respect to Dr. Whang's paper scandal listed in few journals due to the complex media manipulations and conflicting reports. Worst of all, I am very vexed and frustrated at SNU committee today hearing that everything Dr. Whang has achieved in Life Science may be fraud or as such implied. Then, I have to ask myself why I would not accept the facts or fabrics they announced today since they are power elite and top scholars in Korea. I am not better than them at all in the almost every aspect. After few thoughts, I could reach the following conclusions regarding the source of my emotional turmoil.
1) Buck stops here.
There are more than 20 co-authors in the paper. Nobody except Dr. Whang acknowledges his/her wrong doings or mistakes nevertheless each and everyone in the paper should share the privilege and responsibility together. I saw the dog war among the prominent top scholars, and that makes me sick. This kind of sick behavior expands to the media, politician, and other scholars including members of SNU committee.
2) Grapevines and Opinion Leaders
I have never seen that mass media and opinion leaders change their perspectives and head line so quickly up and down. I think it is the least duty that they try to deliver informed and educated guess if they do not dare to express truth or facts. Otherwise, they should have to wait until they have picture on the whole truth. Instead they rushed to use the personal opinions and circulate or refer them like the sentence in the bible again and again, resulted in whole mass and shame to our very own people.
3) Ethical Issues
As MBC stated, the ethics are important and have to get approval from the ethical committee if have any. I do not want mislead or mix the ethical issue with MBC questioning that you are innocent enough to throw a stone to somebody as Jesus said. But, as for the journal concerned, raw data manipulation (omission, expansion) is sometimes necessary evil to protect the expertise and ethical issue is irrelevant unless the experiment is inhumane or not based on common sense as long as ethical committee concerned. Simply put, there is no way the committee can judge the truth or fake of the paper. It should be balanced the scholars’ consciousness and interest pending.
4) Paper Manipulation/ Original Technology
Here come method. Readers at journal usually focus on methods to find logical expression in the paper. Most of time they simply could not prove the truth of the paper other than logically consistent due to the nature of paper. Sometimes authors have to use the modified raw data to use specific type of method to develop the paper or hide them to protect the technology concerned. I could not and have not right to say Dr. Whang is bad or honorable person with respect to his paper manipulation. But I know at least Dr. Whang proved the original clone technology thru Snopy using the stem cell technology. Dr. Whang should be appreciated and protected from any harmful acts only by this tech. For other techs, he should have reasonable time to prove his argument, and then we can judge accordingly.
5) Attitude/Publicity
I do not understand some people blame Dr. Whang that he has too much personal network and shows almost professional diplomatic attitude. An able fund raiser is very important job to the supervising professor; otherwise he can not afford the research as well as hire brilliant students and researchers. This talent is vital to every professor who wants to excel. NSU should not blame but cherish and thank him for that. Finally I have never seen any professors starting work 6 in the morning everyday. Neither con man can do nor other professors as far as I know.
첫댓글 여기도 황우석이군요. -_- 벌써 몇달째 이러니 이러다가는 줄기세포 연구 제가 하겠습니다 그려.
한때 황우석을 사랑한 것에 대한 잘못을 그렇게 시인하기가 어려운 것인가? 일관성의 함정에서 얼른 빠져 나오면 좋으련만... 과학적 진실과 인간적 정직은 달성하기 어렵지만 계속해서 추구해야 하는 가치가 아닐까요?