1. Does the contradiction between Millikan's unqualified statement that he has published all the oil-drop data and the evidence of unpublished oil-drop measurements in his notebooks prove that he is guilty of unethical scientific behavior? If Millikan had not claimed to have published all the data, would he still be guilty of questionable behavior?
We believe that this does prove him guilty, because he should not have lied about his scientific research. We still believe he is guilty of unethical behavior, but if he would not have contradicted himself then it would not have been as bad.
2. Should the fact that Millikan was a highly successful scientist, and that he got the right answer in the controversy about the charge on the electron be a consideration in judging his scientific ethics?
We believe he should always receive the credit for discovering the charge on the electron, but it should always be known that he did it through unethical behavior.
3. What criteria should be used in deciding whether data can be legitimately discarded? When a scientist uses his or her "intuition" as the basis for deciding whether to ignore certain data, is the question of the ethics of this action dependent on whether the conclusion reached by the scientist is later proven to be correct?
If the equiptmemt in the test is faulty or shows a sign of malfunctioning, then the information obtained should be discarded. I think that a scientist should make the best guess they possibly could, and if a good answer is not able to be reached, then they should redo the study. I also think that the scientist should warn people that if he had to make an educated guess then the studies could have a possibility of not being 100% right.
4. Is the intentional manipulation and selection of data in order to falsely prove a scientific premise less of a violation of acceptable ethical standards than the outright fabrication of data?
Yes, it is worse because it is done with an intention. Millikan did not intentionally take the material out to help himself, he just believed that it should not be included in his results.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Summary
The Millikan Case
The Millikan Case talks about choosing selective information to include in the presentation of a test that a scientist made. It talks about how it is hard to distinguish between what is an ethically wrong decision and what is a decision that was made because of faulty equipment or some other problem. Robert Millikan was a very popular scientist who discovered the charge of the electron. This was essential because it expanded upon J.J. Thompson’s study of the electron. Millikan was able to measure the charge of the electron by dropping a drop of oil between two plates with electrically charged fields that would force the drop to rise. He measured the rise time of the droplet to determine the charge. If the charge of each ion was multiples of the same number, then the charge would be the same. The tables that he published proved that the droplets had the same charge, because they all were multiples of the same number. He continued to write many published works about his discovery. When some of Millikan’s works were examined, it surfaced that he had picked and chosen between the drops he publicized. Out of 189 drops he tested, only 140 were in the works he published. Millikan contradicted this by saying that he included all of his drops in his works. Millikan was questioned by Felix Ehrenhaft who said he found sub electrons. After time it was concluded that Millikan’s theory that electrons have the same charge was right. The controversy in this case is how much discretion a scientist can be trusted with when it comes to their opinion on what data should be included because of faulty equipment or other situations, and if it is okay for scientists to make “educated guesses.”
The Millikan Case talks about choosing selective information to include in the presentation of a test that a scientist made. It talks about how it is hard to distinguish between what is an ethically wrong decision and what is a decision that was made because of faulty equipment or some other problem. Robert Millikan was a very popular scientist who discovered the charge of the electron. This was essential because it expanded upon J.J. Thompson’s study of the electron. Millikan was able to measure the charge of the electron by dropping a drop of oil between two plates with electrically charged fields that would force the drop to rise. He measured the rise time of the droplet to determine the charge. If the charge of each ion was multiples of the same number, then the charge would be the same. The tables that he published proved that the droplets had the same charge, because they all were multiples of the same number. He continued to write many published works about his discovery. When some of Millikan’s works were examined, it surfaced that he had picked and chosen between the drops he publicized. Out of 189 drops he tested, only 140 were in the works he published. Millikan contradicted this by saying that he included all of his drops in his works. Millikan was questioned by Felix Ehrenhaft who said he found sub electrons. After time it was concluded that Millikan’s theory that electrons have the same charge was right. The controversy in this case is how much discretion a scientist can be trusted with when it comes to their opinion on what data should be included because of faulty equipment or other situations, and if it is okay for scientists to make “educated guesses.”
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