It was clear from the moment EXP formulas were released that if surface analysis scans gave any positive integer amount of EXP at all, they would be vastly superior as means for gaining score when compared to buying ships. I did contemplate dashing a few hundred scans out and testing this in practise before I quit the round, but somehow in the end I totally forgot about it.
Once again, had the formulas been released well in advance of the round (say during the beta) this could have been pointed out to Spinner.