The Lancet pulls a fast one 10

[dik]

You wouldn't think it from his response...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[SwinnyGG]

why shouldn't technical communication be the same

I would agree generally that technical communication should be as clear as it can be to its intended audience.

The point that it seems to me is being missed here is that this particular study, based on its own description, was intended to compare death rates due to temperature extremes between various geographical areas and age groups.

There is an important difference between a problem statement that says 'How do death rates compare between various age groups exposed to temperature extremes' or 'How do temperature-extreme-related death rates compare in Latvia and Estonia' and 'Does heat kill more people than cold does'.

I agree with the opinion that the data set presented in this study warrants a conclusion that cold is generally more dangerous than heat is. No debate based on the data presented. But that conclusion answers a question that wasn't asked in the study.

Authors of scientific papers do not have a duty to report every possible conclusion based on the data they evaluate in a study or experiment - they determine what they want to study and they study that exact thing as precisely as possible. If the data they gather warrants further study or a even a conclusion to a different problem than the one they set out to solve, they don't owe a clear statement of a conclusion that is outside the aim of the study.