On Google Earth Engine, beware of the Mrs-Armitage-on-Wheels Syndrom

=> 

A few colleagues replied to our campaign to explain some of the dangers of Google Earth Engine. They said :

« well, after all you are probably right, but don’t worry, we only use it to do quick and dirty stuff, not real scientific work »

As most (…) of these colleagues are quite sensible, I am not worrying too much. But as far as I am concerned, I would have some chances to be a victim of Mrs-Armitage-on-wheels Syndrom (AWS). I guess I do not need to explain it to our British colleagues who read this blog, this syndrome originates from the great children book by Quentin Blake. I used to read it to my children, some time ago (every night for the two first weeks, then once in a while…): Mrs Armitage on wheels.

Concerning this post about flooding detection for instance, could you resist the temptation to enhance it a little, adding several levels of flooding, a monitoring of how the water recedes, a comparison to historical flooding levels,  and even a little model of plant respiration in the soil to see if the crops have a chance to survive, or a water flow model to see where the wine bottles from your mother-in-law cellar can be now… And what happens if GEE stops, or requires payment, or simply changes, of if a stone crosses the road without looking on both sides ?- « Paheehahurh » (read the book, I do not want to spoil the end… !).