I will not try to debate the relative merits of academia, because good or not, the question is whether we should allow data to be available to people outside of those institutions or place restrictions on the data we are releasing that limit it specifically to academic institutions even when we've already deemed it suitable for release.
We are also not talking about whether the average joe is equal to the average PhD, but whether it is right to actively exclude those who are willing and able to contribute to research because they are not part of the academic institutions.
Let us be clear in this case that we are talking of several TB's of data, well within the remit of a setup an intelligent employed professional on a decent salary is able to set up in his own home with a bit of money, time and work. Odds are if someone is able to obtain this data and store it properly, they have already passed a basic competency barrier that suggests they are able to contribute.
Now, it is a common academic myth that universities have access to the best resources and abilities, and that those outside do not. But I, for example, have now been employed with several bodies...arguably/theoretically with more/as much money, data and resources as many universities.
I'm not going to comment on fMRI or NMR, thats not my field, but i'm not going to discount intellectually curious people's ability to gain access to tools/machines outside the academy, and i'm not even touching upon grey/black methods of doing so, which in computing can mean often that those outside academia can often bring more power/insight to problems than those inside.
We are also not talking about whether the average joe is equal to the average PhD, but whether it is right to actively exclude those who are willing and able to contribute to research because they are not part of the academic institutions.
Let us be clear in this case that we are talking of several TB's of data, well within the remit of a setup an intelligent employed professional on a decent salary is able to set up in his own home with a bit of money, time and work. Odds are if someone is able to obtain this data and store it properly, they have already passed a basic competency barrier that suggests they are able to contribute.
Now, it is a common academic myth that universities have access to the best resources and abilities, and that those outside do not. But I, for example, have now been employed with several bodies...arguably/theoretically with more/as much money, data and resources as many universities.
I'm not going to comment on fMRI or NMR, thats not my field, but i'm not going to discount intellectually curious people's ability to gain access to tools/machines outside the academy, and i'm not even touching upon grey/black methods of doing so, which in computing can mean often that those outside academia can often bring more power/insight to problems than those inside.