[Ifeffit] Two analysts, one spectrum, similar outcome?

[Mike Massey]

I'm the dumb one. But it's an interesting question, and gets perhaps to the heart of the issue: to what extent does the smartness of the analyst, or their experience, or the fitting procedures used, or a butterfly flapping its wings in Micronesia, impact the results?

For the sake of argument, can two equally smart and experienced analysts working on fitting the same EXAFS spectra be expected to reach similar conclusions? I guess we'll find out.

Another colleague once said something like, "EXAFS is great: you publish a paper, then later you publish another paper re-analyzing the same data." Of course, he's a strictly computational guy, so I'm not sure he necessarily has standing to criticize...(Good-natured sarcasm font...)



> On Aug 13, 2019, at 6:43 PM, Anatoly Frenkel <anatoly.frenkel at stonybrook.edu> wrote:
> 
> Are they equally smart?
> 
> Anatoly
> 
>> On Aug 13, 2019, at 9:39 PM, Mike Massey <mmassey at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Everyone,
>> 
>> 
>> I'm curious, has anyone ever tried turning two analysts loose on the same unknown EXAFS spectrum to see if their fits come out with similar conclusions? If you have tried it, how did it work out? Were the conclusions indeed similar? If not, why not, and what did you end up doing about it?
>> 
>> I was talking with a colleague today about our plans for data analysis, and we settled on this approach (since there are two interested parties willing to try to fit a series of unknown EXAFS datasets).
>> 
>> The hope is, of course, that the two analysts will independently reach similar conclusions with similar fits and structural models, but to my mind that outcome is by no means guaranteed. Given the (presumably) wide variation in fitting customs and procedures, I can envision a scenario in which there are major differences.
>> 
>> This got me wondering, "Has anyone tried this?" So I thought I'd ask.
>> 
>> 
>> Your thoughts and experiences would be welcome. Thanks!
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Mike Massey
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