real life wrote:So if the thermometer gave a reading of 72 degrees Fahrenheit for the liquid nitrogen, would that mean that I was deceptive for not telling the researcher that we were dealing with liquid nitrogen?
Or would you say the thermometer was most likely defective?
If you used a thermometer to measure liquid nitrogen it would shatter.
real life wrote:The method in question gives indistinguishable results for samples millions of years old and for samples a decade old.
Is that the fault of the researcher, or a fatal flaw in the method? (Not a tough question.)
Dr. Austin deliberately used a method of measurement that he knew would give a false result. He did this by withholding information that would give a correct result. It's like a witness withholding vital information of a murder.
Dr. Austin committed fraud. The fraud was on the ignorant fundies who would believe anything that supported their faith. So it would be easy to con them. They want to be conned just as RL wants to be conned into believing the inerrancy of the Bible.
It is the fault of the researcher because he knew what he had to do to get a correct result. But the researcher, Dr. Austin, didn't want the correct result. He needed to lie because lies are the only thing that will make the Bible inerrant.
It's sad but the literal interpretation of the Bible can't be supported by truth.
