Bharadwaj wrote:I however wonder why the hot high tests had to be re done for the Army? The Air force found the results last year to be good enough for the IOC. The HAL press release appears to put any lingering doubts to rest. Let us hope all sqrs were met and the orders will flow soon.
I am generically writing this to help people decipher press releases. Its
not connected to the LUH.
Typically, when a press release comes out,
XYZ successfully completes trials, typically readers get optimistic confirmation bias on reading the word
successfully and believe that XYZ passed trials. However, there is a big difference between the word
completes and
passed.
Its like "Student successfully completes examination". What it means is that student has successfully completed
the process of examination.
What it means is student successfully left home, went to examination center, got the question paper, attempted questions, submitted answer sheet and came home.
"Student successfully completes examination" is absolutely no indication of whether student got the answers right or passed.
Similarly
XYZ successfully completes trials indicates the
process of trials has been
successfully completed but not an accurate indicator of whether all performance specifications have been met.
BR members misled by the press release start wondering why there are repeat trials and feel frustrated.
Its because some performance specifications have not been met in the earlier trials and hence the student has to appear for re-examination.
Another common press release is
missile successfully launched. Again on reading the word
successfully an optimistic confirmation bias is created and readers miss the word
launched used with successfully.
What it means is that the missile left the launcher successfully. It does not indicate missile guided successfully, covered distance to the target, seeker detected target, warhead fused and operated properly destroying the target.
successfully tested means the process of testing has been successful and not an indicator of whether all test points have been met.
Misreading such press releases makes people suffer from frustration when repeat trials are held. And in India, instead of digging the truth, people start creating conspiracy theories
BTW this true across foreign, private, PSU press releases. Foreign & private press releases are even more colourful. We had a Canadian gentleman on Bharat Rakshak forums who exposed many exaggerations around C-17 rough field capabilities when its acquisition by IAF was underway.
One of the advertised capabilities of C-17 was its ability to land in rough fields. While its load carrying capacity is impressive, I've not seen it landing in rough fields in IAF service.
