Milikan Case
Fudging, the act of choosing one’s own outcome and not using all of the results is an ethical issue because the “right thing” does not always promote one’s self-interest. This issue can be debated in the Millikan Case. In 1897, J.J. Thompson discovered the electron. This discovery initiated the case, as people were not sure of the charge of electrons because of the accuracy of the results. Robert Millikan was a famous U.S. scientist who won the Nobel Prize in 1924 for discovering the charge of the electron. He found this charge by observing the behavior of oil droplets in an electrically charged field. Millikan measured the speed of these droplets, and in his published experiment, Millikan stated that the rise times of these drops were the least common multiple of each other, thus resulting in the charge of the electron. Later examinations of Millikan’s notes proved that Millikan picked and chose what drops to use to prove his experiment right. However, his notebooks have all of the data Millikan used. Some scientists condemn Millikan for his method of choosing data, while others exonerated him because he used “scientific intuition.”
Leah Redwine
Elise Doran
Ashley Pham
Jenny Adair
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What was wrong with Millikan's method of choosing data?
ReplyDeleteI think that Milikan was not right to pick and choose which information to use on his experiments and conclusions. That is not truly accurate information if every entry is not recorded (even if the entry is not satisfactory). I don't agree that is ethically "okay" to pick out data (that you want to happen) because then the information is partly biased and unrealistic. It needs to be sraightforward and true.
ReplyDeleteYeah, what else would he have done than to choose his own method?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Caroline. Milikan should have showed all of the information he dicovered while doing his tests. At that point, if he decided that some of his tests should not be used he could have let others know rather than not being straight-forward.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Caroline on this situation. To know the right data Millikan should have not picked and chosen what information he wanted to use. The result in picking out the data, he would not be able to get all the information he wanted. Well the correct information that is.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with caroline he had no right to pick and choose the data that would give the best reault for what he wanted to acomplish. All the data is relevent and should be presented.
ReplyDeleteMary, if Milikan was wrong or not is your opinion. Many people believe that he did not have the right to choose which data he used in his results, while other believe it was an acceptable practice because he ended up getting the right answer and he used his own judgement. But it's up to you to decide whether or not Milikn was in the wrong!
ReplyDeleteCCC, Milikan could have published all of the results he recieved, but then the outcome would not be in his favor. What else he could have done-he could have accepted that the results were not as he predicted and let the public know.
ReplyDeleteIf some data proved that electrons were charged and some didn't, wasn't the evidence still there that they had the charge?
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the comments of the group regarding this study, it sounds like you only consider something unethical if it directly harms someone. In this case, although there is no direct harm, developments in science (which can affect people) could have been set back years because of this falsification of data. Dishonesty in research is considered unethical even when there is no identifiable result. In the long run, something is always affected. If we allow dishonesty in some situations, how do we know where to draw the line? Also, had there been researchers working on a different aspect of this, their work may have been distorted by his report.
ReplyDeleteAnna, there is some evidence but other evidence that is conflicting. More research would have to be done to clear it up. One of the questions was also whether the charge was a whole number or a fraction.
ReplyDeleteI think it us up to our own selves to decide whether or not Milikan's method was ethical. It was clearly not honest, but the ethical stance on the issue may be debated.
ReplyDeleteI think that Milikan should have used all the data. It was unethical to pick and choose which data he wanted to use. This makes is seem that the data he did not use did not support his outcome.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Milikan should not have been able to pick and choose what data he wanted to present. It can alter the experiment.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion all cases should have been presented, and to do an accurate study all the results should be included.
ReplyDeletei think that he should have used not only the ones that proved his experiment true but should have used the others too because without it you dont get all the facts.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Milikan should not have been allowed to choose what data and information from his experiment he wanted to present. On the other hand, using his intuition, provided him with one of the most important scientific discoveries.
ReplyDeleteMilikan's conclusion (discriminated) did come out to be the correct conclusion, as shown in later research. I agree with you sja32836, he used his scientific intuition for the better.
ReplyDeleteMrs. LaPlace is right. If the line isn't drawn at some point, we wont know when to draw the line. dishonestly is definitely unethical and Milikan shouldn't have been allowed to pick and choose which data to use. Though the conclusion was correct, i do agree on the fact that he should have taken all the reseach and then gotten the facts.
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