In this discussion of the upcoming Rossi report, several people have asked important questions: Who can we trust? How can we be sure the data is correct? How do we know there is no fraud?
I have a good answer. You can trust a licensed HVAC engineer. This is not because licensed engineers are angelic people. I suppose they lie, steal, and cheat on their spouses as often as anyone else. However, when they sign off on a report, they put their livelihood on the line. If they make a drastic mistake, or if they knowingly lie, their license can be revoked. They will go from working in an upper-middle-class secure profession to working the night shift at McDonald's. That is why society has professional licensing. The author and civil engineer Samuel C. Florman describes this in several of his essays. The system is not perfect. On rare occasions, engineers cheat even though they face the loss of their livelihood if they are caught. These tend to be stupid engineers, not crafty people. Here is a famous example from Japan in 2006: "Condo scandal shakes engineering industry" http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2006/01/07/national/condo-scandal-shakes-engineering-industry/#.Vv67m6QrJ3g - Jed
