On 2 Aug 2006 15:52:35 -0700, "gds" wrote:

But then you want the "public" to comment. On what would the public
comment? Of what value would it be? The discussion is about highly
technical and complex procedures. Of what use would my degree in
economics be in judging the worth of these studies. Yes, with a bit of
logic one can see summary results and make a dilletantish judgement but
not a really scientific judgement. I sure don't put much stock in a
chemist's opinion of my currency exchange rate prediction model. But a
lot of other economists have liked it.

There's room for cross-discipline opinion. Too often a field will be so caught
up in its own assumptions that it won't see what is obvious from another
perspective. You are economist, you've seen this happen in your field in your
life time.

Now that chemist knows his limitations (only if he's smart and honest) and could
only ask the sort of questions that a really bright guy who understands science
in general could put to you about your model. But, I'm sure you could see that
he might have a worthwhile perspective on it.

Ron