Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utastro.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!houxm!whuxl!whuxlm!akgua!sdcsvax!dcdwest!ittvax!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!ethan From: ethan@utastro.UUCP (Ethan Vishniac) Newsgroups: net.origins Subject: Re: Honesty Message-ID: <1035@utastro.UUCP> Date: Tue, 26-Feb-85 12:57:29 EST Article-I.D.: utastro.1035 Posted: Tue Feb 26 12:57:29 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 2-Mar-85 05:39:34 EST References: <725@uwmacc.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX Lines: 28 Paul writes > My points were two: > > (i) Patterson accepted a dishonest tactic when not practiced by > creationists. > (ii) Patterson attempted to trace creationist misuse of the second > law to the VN/S anecdote. Perhaps I should make my point clear. I care about creationism as a public issue. (I phrase it that way deliberately). I am irritated by the casual abuse of the second law that takes place in this news group. I do not care about the history of creationism. Presumably anyone who writes a book about it should. However, bad historical research on one person's part does not excuse dishonest and/or ignorant discussion of physics by someone else. I do not think that Patterson's anecdote reveals any dishonesty by the people in question. Entropy is a subtle and complicated topic. So is number theory. This doesn't mean that absurd statements regarding thermodynamics or integer addition are excusable on that account. "Don't argue with a fool. Ethan Vishniac Borrow his money." {charm,ut-sally,ut-ngp,noao}!utastro!ethan Department of Astronomy University of Texas Austin, Texas 78712 *Anyone who wants to claim these opinions is welcome to them*