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Deep Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D.

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Could Einstein’s Work Get Published Today?

September 25, 2020 by deepstatorg

An excellent article by a Physics Nobel Laureate Frank Wilczek @WSJ (Sept. 24, 2020)  where he pointed out how scientific journals have become more professionalized over the last century, leaving less room for individual style.

Albert Einstein’s 1915 masterpiece “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity” is a joy to read because of its unique style.  But the article wouldn’t be publishable in today’s scientific journal even though it would pass the tests of correctness and significance. Why not? Because of its unusual (refreshing?) style—that has no respect for the conventional norms.

“Einstein’s paper doesn’t fit the mold for modern, professional scientific communication. It starts with a leisurely philosophical discussion of space and time and then continues with an exposition of known mathematics (tensor calculus). Those two sections, which would be considered extraneous today, take up half the paper. Worse, there are zero citations of previous scientists’ work, nor are there any graphics. Those features would doom a paper today. It might not even get past the first editors to be sent out to referees.”

No wonder why we find it so boring to read most of the current scientific papers arranged in `theory-method-asymptotics-simulation’ fashion just to make editors happy at the cost of annoying or confusing the readers.

“Of course, Einstein would have found his way to publishing his results. He’d prune the philosophy, festoon the paper with citations, put the expository bits into “Supplementary Materials” and maybe add some snazzy graphics. Its scientific core wouldn’t have changed, but the paper might not be the same pleasure to read.”

Editors of today’s scientific journals have to recognize that unconventional ideas come from unconventional people possessing unconventional style. Judging a paper on the basis of its “style” rather than its scientific content is a dangerous trend that will encourage breeding the same breed of researchers.  Let’s not close the door for the next young Einstein or Feynman or Tukey.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Einstein, freedom of style, scientific journals

What's The Point of Doing Fundamental Science?

April 25, 2019 by deepstatorg

What's the point of doing fundamental science? Nima Arkani-Hamed presented his own fascinating perspective in a recent public lecture at Cornell, which everybody should listen. These are some of my top picks: What does it require to do fundamental … [Continue reading] about What's The Point of Doing Fundamental Science?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Fundamental Science

Two sides of Theoretical Data Science: Analysis and Synthesis

February 26, 2018 by deepstatorg

Theory of [Efficient] Computing: A branch of Theoretical Computer Science that deals with how quickly one can solve (compute) a given algorithm.  The critical task is to analyze algorithms carefully based on their performance characteristics to make … [Continue reading] about Two sides of Theoretical Data Science: Analysis and Synthesis

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Data Science, Science of Statistics

The "Science" and "Management" of Data Analysis

March 5, 2017 by deepstatorg

Hierarchy and branches of Statistical Science The phrases “Science” and “Management” of data analysis were introduced by Manny Parzen (2001) while discussing Leo Breiman's Paper on "Statistical Modeling: The Two Cultures," where he pointed … [Continue reading] about The "Science" and "Management" of Data Analysis

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 21st-century statistics, Core of Data Analysis, Science of Statistics

Confirmatory Culture: Time To Reform or Conform?

November 1, 2016 by deepstatorg

THEORY Culture 1: Algorithm + Theory: the role of theory is to justify or confirm. Culture 2: Theory + Algorithm: From confirmatory to constructive theory, explaining the statistical origin of the algorithm(s)--an explanation of where they came … [Continue reading] about Confirmatory Culture: Time To Reform or Conform?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 21st-century statistics, Data Science, Next-Generation Statisticians, Science of Statistics

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Deep Mukhopadhyay

Deep Mukhopadhyay
Statistics Department
deep [at] unitedstatalgo.com

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D. (2013), Texas A&M University
  • M.S. (2008), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur
  • B.S. (2006), University of Calcutta, India

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  • Could Einstein’s Work Get Published Today?
  • What's The Point of Doing Fundamental Science?
  • Two sides of Theoretical Data Science: Analysis and Synthesis

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