A recent post on Retraction Watch is a reminder to all what it really means to be a scientist, researcher and teacher.
Dr. Pavičić from the University of Zagreb has retracted a paper in Physical Review Letters after a fatal error, which escaped him and all those who scrutinised the manuscript, was brought to his attention by a student. Dr. Pavičić went on to congratulate the student for his/her insight and to write a paper (on arXiv) explaining the errors.
Dr. Pavičić’s manner of dealing with the error is perhaps regarded as exemplary, but really should be regarded as “normal” for a scientist, researcher and teacher. Sadly, in the current climate many may find his exemplary behaviour unusual. He is certainly worthy of our collective congratulations for remaining true to science.
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