People mistake readability with trueness all the time. Imagine a full-sized live elephant gets on scale. The scale reads “113 pounds.” Not a single one of us would have any difficulty rejecting that measurement. We intuit that it is wrong. Really wrong. It’s not feasible. It’s not plausible. There is no way it could be. […]
Is forensic science truly scientific?
There is a fundamental question before us today: In the world of forensic science as practiced today, is it truly scientific? Or does forensic science create a veneer of science that whitewashes what in reality is science fiction? We have blogged on it before: The scientific framework of forensic science is it wrong? The scientific method […]
Yet another crime lab scandal – the real question is how many failures until they get caught and when is enough enough?
It seems that every week there is more news coming out of a forensic laboratory of major laboratory failures. This time it is from the state of Massachusetts where a state crime lab has been shut down and 50,000 samples from at least 34,000 different accused citizens are now all in question. Mass. Crime Lab […]
Another week another forensic laboratory scandal. It’s the Wild Wild West
With no standardization of methods, a whole scale lack of basic validity, and a lack of meaningful oversight, today’s forensic laboratory system is beyond “badly fragmented.” It is utterly lawless. It is like the Wild Wild West. Like I have written before (Why Don’t we Six Sigma Forensic Science? It’s all about method validation, traceability, […]
“I don’t know” is a perfectly acceptable answer
I was reading an article. It got me to thinking about testifying expert witnesses. Basically, the premise of the article is that “I don’t know” is a perfectly acceptable answer. It is. It is a beautiful answer. It should be our default position in forensic science. We should start out with no presumptions or assumptions. […]
Some random thoughts on forensic science
While at the ACS press conference last week, I was asked by an international reporter my thoughts on the current state of affairs in Forensic Science by a Brazilian science reporter. I wanted to share my answers with you all and see if there are different points of view that may be out there. So […]
More junk science debunked: Probation urinalysis testing and analysis by undertrained probation officers halted
As I have written many times, science should be reserved to true, credentialed scientists. The worst thing in the world is the veneer of science whereby some technique earns admissibility and presumed validity simply because it has been in the Courtroom repeatedly. We need to start challenging more of these sacred cows in the courtroom. […]
False positives and bad interpretation of analytical chemistry results happen: Case Study of Jake Gibb
I love the Olympics. Everything about it is awesome in my opinion. From the pageantry to the personal stories of triumph… The competition, but also the community of it all is so very inspiring. One of the stories the NBC featured was that of Jake Gibb. Jake Gibb represents the United States If you recall, […]
We’re doing science here, right? TriTech Blood Tubes
The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. ― Isaac Asimov One of the beautiful things about science is that it is supposed to be objective. It is frequently said that science “doesn’t have a dog in the fight.” It is emotionless. It is free from […]
Christine Funk charges away questioning the underlying validity of the crime laboratory
Christine Funk is one of my role models. She helped me come up with the idea of the Forensic Science Geek of the Week. She is one of the folks who has taken me under her wing especially in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. For a long time, she has been charging away and […]
Breaking news: The Forensic Science and Standards Act of 2012 is introduced
The National Academy of Sciences authored an excoriating examination on the state of forensic science as presented in the courtroom today. It called forensic science “badly fragmented” and in need of major reform. It highlighted how many techniques currently employed including many traditional “sacred cows” are non-validated and perhaps even invalid as practiced currently. There […]
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