[andygates]

Sparkie also doesn't understand that raw data, especially over long timescales where collecting methods have changed, is messy stuff. It has to be cleaned up to be useful, and the people who are best qualified to do that are, gosh, climate scientists. Temperature dataset papers are routinely published and any odd assumptions challenged by other people knowledgeable in the field.

In short, demanding "raw data" is a shining example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

[skew]

I disagree extensively - raw data should definitely be available, and there are a number of interesting things you can do with it without any special expertise. For one, evaluating whether those adjustments even affect any overall conclusions you are concerned about, like this:

http://forums.sandiegouniontribune.com/showpost.php?p=532360...

If there is incompetence at play here, it's in failing to get ahold of raw data.