The Economist - UK (2022-02-19)

12 The Economist February 19th 2022
Letters

Peerpressure

I suspectyouhavenotexam­

inedtheevidencebehindyour

statementthatthequality­

assurancesystemofscientific

journals“generallyworkswell”

(“Handsomeprints”,February

5th).Peerreviewisthemain

assurancesystemforscience

journals,butremarkably,until

about 40 yearsagonobodyhad

studiedtheprocess.

Whenstudiesdidbegin

researchersfoundlittleorno

evidenceofeffectiveness.They

didfindthatpeerreviewis

slow,expensive,inefficient,

pooratdetectingerrorsor

fraud,pronetobiasandsome­

thingofa lottery.Itisalso

anti­innovation,inthattruly

originalstudiesthatwinNobel

prizesareoftenrejected.We

knowtoothatjournalsare

filledwithstatisticalerrors

andstudieswheretheconclu­

sionsarenotsupportedbythe

methodsanddata.Drummond

Rennie,oneofthepioneersof

peer­reviewresearch,summed

uptheevidencebysaying,“If

peerreviewwerea drugit

wouldnotbeallowedontothe

market.”Paradoxicallypeer

review,whichisattheheartof

science,isfaith­based,not

evidence­based.

richardsmith

Formereditor

BritishMedicalJournal

London

Ayear after the coup

Thank you for reporting on the

forgotten tragedy in Myanmar

(“The enemy of my enemy”,

January 29th). Why have no

Western countries formally

recognised the country’s

parallel National Unity

Government (nug), formed by

lawmakers who were deposed

by the coup? In the current

battle between authoritar­

ianism and democracy, there 

is no more egregious example

than Myanmar of where the

former is failing dismally. Yet

the West remains disgracefully

hesitant. The nugis imperfect

and callow but it is also demo­

cratic, inclusive and decisively

on the side of all Myanmar’s

people. Clear and brave recog­

nition of its legitimacy would

senda strongmessagenot

justtothecriminalMyanmar

juntabuttootherbulliesand

tyrantsglobally.

richardfowler

London

Howtoboostworkers’pay

“All­consuming”(January

29th)defendedthetraditional

focusoftrustbustingoncon­

sumerwelfareanddiscour­

agedattemptstobroadenit to

otherareas,suchasprotecting

workers.Youweretoohastyto

discountthevalueofinterven­

tioninthatarea.Thereis

growingempiricalevidence

thatmonopsonypowerover

workersisverymucha real

phenomenon,significantly

depressingtheirwages.For

example,seeAlanManning’s

reviewoftheliteraturein

IndustrialandLabourRelations

View(June2020).Indeed,

evidenceandtheoryaresowell

establishedbynowthatI can

teachsimplemonopsony

modelsinmyintroductionto

economicsclassalongside

monopolymodels.Other

formsofinterventions,suchas

minimumwages,canhelpdeal

withmonopsonies,andestab­

lishingclearcriteriawouldnot

beeasy.Butantitrustlaw

wouldbeinvaluableincorrect­

ingthismarketfailurebecause

ofitsfocusonintervention.

pedrofrancodecampos

pinto

Assistantprofessor

MusashiUniversity

Tokyo

Marked for life

I wonder if any thought has

gone into the consequences of

a programme that aims to

sequence the genomes of

200,000 babies (“Silver linings

playbook”, January 29th)? You

highlighted the potential

medical benefits that comes

from an early diagnosis of rare

diseases. What about the

insurance implications? Such

records identify a baby’s

predisposition to illness and

would be a gold mine to insur­

ance companies seeking to

avoid future risk. When the

babies become adults they may

find they can’t get insured or

mustpayexcessivelyhigh

premiumsona rangeofpoli­

ciesfrommortgagestotravel.

Thefindingsofsuch

researchmaybetreatedas

confidential.Butonceit

becamecommonpractice

insurerscouldaska simple

question:haveyoueverhad

yourdnachecked?Failureto

answercouldmeana future

claimisrejected,anunfair

decisionbasedona medical

issuethatmaynotarise.

johnwalls

Glasgow

Improving the Acropolis

Your article on Europe’s histor­

ic monuments mentioned

works carried out on the

Acropolis (“Lockdown knock­

down”, January 29th). All pro­

jects carried out on the Acrop­

olis are in full compliance with

national law and international

conventions. They come under

the scientific supervision and

responsibility of the Commit­

tee for the Conservation of the

Acropolis Monuments. The

bits that the ministry of

culture is responsible for are

evaluated by the international

scientific community; mem­

bers of staff are internationally

considered to be among the

most experienced and capable

experts in monument restora­

tion. The recent works on the

Acropolis were the subject of

an international conference in

November 2021, during which

the participants were able to

inspect them in person. The

conference confirmed that the

works were carried out with

absolute respect for the

monuments and all other

archaeological remains.

The slope elevator (unique

in its class), the hydraulic

works that regulate the run­off

of rainwater and the new

visitor pathways have finally

made the Acropolis accessible

and safe for all people. We have

eliminated the risk of

accidents. The view of the

monuments is unobstructed.

You placed disproportionate

emphasis on the opposition’s

criticism of the paving materi­

al of the Acropolis routes. In

fact, the works in question are

primarily associated with the

repaving of the previous exist­

ing routes, with materials that

are similar to the ones used in

the restoration of the monu­

ments themselves.

panagiotis panagopoulos

Press office

Ministry of Culture and Sports

Athens

Writing skills

I am pleased that vellum is still

being made in Milton Keynes

(“Going, going, not gone”,

January 22nd). The survival of

the craft in Britain hung in the

balance when Parliament

decided to go high­tech setting

down its acts. Instead of print­

ing or writing on calf skin, as

had been the practice for cen­

turies, legislation was to be set

for posterity on acid­free

paper. The matter was debated

in the Commons. Vellum’s

durability was praised, as it

was still possible to view the

death warrant for Charles I

written on the parchment. Not

wanting to support the in­

dustry the government coun­

tered: “In the event of a future

royal death warrant or other

matter, we might exceptionally

violate the call of the leader of

the opposition and import the

material from France.”

gerald smith

Wellington, New Zealand

Defending Ottawa

Canada is another example of a

country moving its capital city

(The Economist explains,

January 24th). Ottawa,

originally known as Bytown,

became the capital after that

status rotated among Kings­

ton, Montreal, Toronto and

Quebec City. This was in part a

geographic compromise, but

also to provide defence from a

potentially powerful and

aggressive neighbour, the

United States. 

peter seaby

Brampton, Canada

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