Comments on: What’s wrong with paper? http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/ The blog of John D. Cook Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:10:06 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Advantages of crude models — The Endeavour http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/comment-page-1/#comment-83987 Advantages of crude models — The Endeavour Wed, 25 May 2011 12:27:33 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/#comment-83987 [...] models are easier to implement. They may also be more robust and better descriptions of [...] [...] models are easier to implement. They may also be more robust and better descriptions of [...]

]]> By: Robert Lempke http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/comment-page-1/#comment-18434 Robert Lempke Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:14:35 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/#comment-18434 We are putting on an addition and I am going to do all the contracting. I got a building permit from the town hall. To get the permit I had to do a couple of scale drawings of my plans. I tried to use a couple of drawing programs, but (even as a computer programmer) I lacked the necessary skills. I ended up using graph paper... We are putting on an addition and I am going to do all the contracting. I got a building permit from the town hall. To get the permit I had to do a couple of scale drawings of my plans. I tried to use a couple of drawing programs, but (even as a computer programmer) I lacked the necessary skills. I ended up using graph paper…

]]> By: John http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/comment-page-1/#comment-2583 John Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:58:04 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/#comment-2583 As for tape backups, I've heard there's about a 50-50 chance of recovering data from a tape backup. I think that has more to do with human error than media failure. People don't test their backups and only find out later that they weren't backing up what they thought they were backing up. As for tape backups, I’ve heard there’s about a 50-50 chance of recovering data from a tape backup. I think that has more to do with human error than media failure. People don’t test their backups and only find out later that they weren’t backing up what they thought they were backing up.

]]> By: John Venier http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/comment-page-1/#comment-2580 John Venier Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:45:46 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/08/whats-wrong-with-paper/#comment-2580 Plus paper crashes a lot less often and is practically guaranteed to be able to outlast any digital technology we have today. We can still read manuscripts from hundreds of years ago but just try to find a punch card reader (I tried about 10 years ago and found one in a technology museum and one privately owned and that was all!). Punch cards at least can be read by humans, but what about those giant > 5.25" floppies? Even if you found a reader, the medium is probably toast. The first CDs went bad as the aluminum reflectors cracked and buckled. Even magnetic tape, probably the most stable, is only good for 25 years in ideal storage conditions. And if you manage to read your old media, will you be able to use the data stored on it? Can you make sense of the format and encoding? Even if you manage that, will the data still be meaningful -- i.e. will you know which records mean what? I heard a story long ago, possibly an urban legend, but quite believable, about the Challenger disaster. The story goes that right after the disaster a bunch of soldiers with loaded rifles took over the control room and confiscated all the data tapes. I'm guessing this was for national security purposes -- it was a high profile flight and no one knew exactly what had happened. So the part of the government with the tapes got what they needed from them and put them in nicely labeled cardboard boxes and put the boxes in a warehouse. Time passed, and the boxes were degrading, so the folks in charge of the tapes put them in new boxes -- but lost all the specifics of the lables on the original boxes. So now all those tapes are just about useless -- even if they can be read there is no information as to what data is recorded on them, how it is encoded, or anything. A tape may have data from a flight control, an astronaut's blood pressure, who knows? By the way, when using paper don't disregard the humble pencil -- pencil marks do not fade with time and they do not run if the paper gets wet -- I did some field geology in the rain and pencils were a must. Plus, pencils don't dry up, don't clog, and don't get stuck like ink pens, and they can be sharpened in the field very simply. Paper and pencil are also invulnerable to many web-based attacks :-) On the other hand, it is not nearly as impressive as a full blown web site, and some researchers I've worked with want all the prestige they can get. I wonder when someone is going to request a web-based 3+3 trial conduct site :-D Plus paper crashes a lot less often and is practically guaranteed to be able to outlast any digital technology we have today. We can still read manuscripts from hundreds of years ago but just try to find a punch card reader (I tried about 10 years ago and found one in a technology museum and one privately owned and that was all!). Punch cards at least can be read by humans, but what about those giant > 5.25″ floppies? Even if you found a reader, the medium is probably toast. The first CDs went bad as the aluminum reflectors cracked and buckled. Even magnetic tape, probably the most stable, is only good for 25 years in ideal storage conditions. And if you manage to read your old media, will you be able to use the data stored on it? Can you make sense of the format and encoding? Even if you manage that, will the data still be meaningful — i.e. will you know which records mean what?

I heard a story long ago, possibly an urban legend, but quite believable, about the Challenger disaster. The story goes that right after the disaster a bunch of soldiers with loaded rifles took over the control room and confiscated all the data tapes. I’m guessing this was for national security purposes — it was a high profile flight and no one knew exactly what had happened.

So the part of the government with the tapes got what they needed from them and put them in nicely labeled cardboard boxes and put the boxes in a warehouse. Time passed, and the boxes were degrading, so the folks in charge of the tapes put them in new boxes — but lost all the specifics of the lables on the original boxes.

So now all those tapes are just about useless — even if they can be read there is no information as to what data is recorded on them, how it is encoded, or anything. A tape may have data from a flight control, an astronaut’s blood pressure, who knows?

By the way, when using paper don’t disregard the humble pencil — pencil marks do not fade with time and they do not run if the paper gets wet — I did some field geology in the rain and pencils were a must. Plus, pencils don’t dry up, don’t clog, and don’t get stuck like ink pens, and they can be sharpened in the field very simply.

Paper and pencil are also invulnerable to many web-based attacks :-)

On the other hand, it is not nearly as impressive as a full blown web site, and some researchers I’ve worked with want all the prestige they can get.

I wonder when someone is going to request a web-based 3+3 trial conduct site :-D

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