alt Hacker NewsThis is great - I think we're getting close to the core disagreement here because I disagree with almost all of that, and I think its because we have different conceptions of what science is.
To me, science is not a database of facts and data, and the scientific process is not just the process of adding to this database.
It is more than that.
Science is building the database of facts and data, but it is also sharing/disseminating that database so that others can write to it too.
We both agree that "openness" is critical for this, but to me, the scientific process includes things like the actual words that a scientist uses to communicate their ideas/data, the paper they wrote, the collaborations they had, the work that they built upon. Science is not like a database only - its more like a distributed system, and the scientific community is like a living, breathing thing. It is the health of that system which has been damaged in my opinion.
So I have no problem that OpenAI updated the database.
They didn't just make the information available though.
They updated the knowledge database, then released low quality slop papers.
They made it clear that they don't give a damn about sharing/disseminating information.
They are trying to fundamentally say "we can do science without prioritizing sharing.
We don't think its important. We'll release the proof because it makes our stock go up, but we're gonna keep going and building and not spend any time on communication or comprehension because we think that it doesn't matter, and your contributions don't matter, and AI is gonna do all of this independently anyway. We spent $20m on the proof because it made our stock go up $20b, but we'll spend 20 min on the paper. Priorities clear.
Does any of that make sense?
I don't disagree that having comprehensible papers is useful. There is undoubtedly value in having well written, easy to understand documents that make it easier for third parties to validate the work presented.
The thing is, that is a "nice to have", not a condition to make science.
If people believe that such things are useful, then the appropriate response is to reproduce, simplify and otherwise make the proofs provided into more easily digestible pieces.
The scientific process is fundamentally indifferent to whatever shibollets and cultural hangups that its presumed participants may have. An alien with fundamentally different norms from us, who experiments to determine the boiling temperature of water is doing science just as much as a human, even if he never submits a paper to a journal.
The issue you're having is that you're under the mistaken belief that the scientific process is the "community" and "norms" that happen to have developed over the past few centuries by this "scientific" priesthood.
It is not. It has never been. It will never be.
This "scientific" priesthood has simply used their power and reputation to enforce their own self-aggrandizing norms, much like the religious priesthood they replaced. They should not be taken seriously, and to go along with these norms when they are unnecessary is frankly ridiculous and shameful for anyone who actually prizes results.
I would urge you to reconsider your stance, and in particular to put deep thought into why you believe these norms are so important.