Why do you take the effort to clarify that the researchers are funded by the Air Force?

Seemed relevant since I was linking to an Air Force Times article.

You could, of course, have said: "The Air Force Times reports...." This is your most similar previous construction:

"The Wall Street Journal reports an economist has found...."

You don't identify the source of funding in this case.

Is there something about the funding that needs highlighting? The way you write make me--and perhaps only me--think that there is a connection between the outcome and the source of funding.

I would read the following statements very differently:

1) "Die Zeit reports that there are one million Nazi sympathizers in Europe."

2) "Researchers funded by the National Socialist Party say that there are one million Nazi sympathizers in Europe."

The attribution of funds suggests that the source of funding is important. Why?

I had no ulterior motives, but the applications I quote are certainly Air Force-specific. Certainly, there are many other applications of this technology that are non-military, but the news sources I found were focused on Air Force applications only.

I'm not sure that answers my question. You just as well could have said, "The Air Force Times reports...," and have conveyed a similar message.

The unusual source needs some explaining. If this was reported in Science I would agree that the source doesn't matter (and, indeed, plenty of reports in Science are the results of research funded by the military and others). But if he had just cited the Air Force Times with no mention of the funding I would wonder why that particular publication was used and try and imagine the Air Force applications to the result. Having mentioned the funding came from the Air Force I can treat the result more purely.

I see this all the time, as a lot of early automata and language theory work (abstract computer science things) came from navy funding, and was reported in journals with curious names.

I just want to take a moment to highlight the extremely trippy nature of this development.

Perhaps the lesson is that we should always identify the source of funding? More information is better than less when the source may have bearing on the way we interpret the results. Yet is seems (and I don't mean unduly to pick on Monk) that this is a shining example when the source of funding helps us understand the results. This may not always be the case...yet the determination seems inherently subjective, no?

I am intrigued, however, that you chose to add the tag the military to this story and did not add a funding source tag to your other story tagged research. Pretty much all the other stories tagged the military are about war stuff.

precisely put, Jon.

Maybe it was laziness. After all, this item is phrased very similarly to the linked story's lede, particularly in the way pointed out. Changing the wording in the way Geoff suggests would have necessitated extra effort to not mention the funding source.

I suppose I should say that I raise this topic as someone under consideration for a research position at a think tank--one that has in the past taken funds from the military. Would such a past justify Monk's commentary?

A highly partisan media source could always run with it:

Baudelaire and Dostoevsky's Parisian encounter resulted in a grand collaboration leading to the earliest known homoerotic rock opera, reports Geoff of the Brookings Institute, a Washington, DC think tank at one time partially funded by the omnibus spending bill used to finance the My Lai massacre...

I love Jon May!

Actually, Jon, I'd be in CA. Los Angeles area. Wanna grab a beer?

The tags are a good point. I'm almost done tagging all of my older posts, and I've noticed that I'm frequently inconsistent with my tagging. But this is a personal blog, so it comes with the territory.

You are free to tag your posts any way you feel. I still wonder, however, why this post gets the military tag....

Geoff: Of course I'd like to grab a beer. Are you here now? Are you joining RAND or Reason?

Monk: Your choice of what to tag or not to tag probably says something about your personal bias or your guess at the important subtext of the article. I'm sure there's been some paper written about how to automatically identify this recently, but I'm also sure I haven't read it.

Jon:

I'll be in Helsinki for a while before I come (if at all) to Santa Monica. Yet the interview/job talk process may take me out west for a few days. If so, I'll let you know.

Ooh, I was in Helsinki at this time last year (though most of my time was spent in Turku). Try and get out into the woods for some wild berries. And if you see a free bike on a rack, grab it quickly, as they go super-fast!

I'll be stationed in Tampere. Any suggestions for there? I'll spend a little time in Turku in October.

How would one know if the bike is free?

They're bright green and attached to a rack only meant for such bikes, with a lock that releases when you put in a 2-euro coin (that you get back when you return the bike). I saw three free, and decided to get one after I had eaten my cloudberry crepes at the farmer's/fisher's market. When I returned there were two left and one guy approached simultaneously. I let him take his choice. The remaining bike didn't have a chain. I was sad.

I've heard not great things about Tampere, unfortunately. Tammerfest may be going on if you get there now. The wife-carrying championships are on in Sonkajärvi this Saturday. I would definitely recommend renting a bike and exploring the islands when you're in Turku. The extent of the bike paths is quite incredible. And if it's a short stay I would choose the Park Hotel, as it is quite charming, well located, and below government rates.

So what brings you to Finland anyway?

Yay cloudberries! And the Koskenkorva!

A Fulbright. A friend of mine invited me to work with the N. American Studies Program at UTa. Funny, I've heard the opposite about Tampere. While I won't be carrying a wife, I plan to enjoy the local wildlife, cuisine, theater, and architecture that the Finns have to offer. I'd love to hear about you experiences. I assume you have (or have reasonably easy access to) my contact info. I know very little about your Finnish expedition....

"Spooky."

????

Sorry.

"Spooky" -Einstein

that is so amazing. your blog RULES