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!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!bill From: bill@utastro.UUCP (William H. Jefferys) Newsgroups: net.origins Subject: Re: Crank Science Message-ID: <523@utastro.UUCP> Date: Sun, 11-Aug-85 09:03:30 EDT Article-I.D.: utastro.523 Posted: Sun Aug 11 09:03:30 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 13-Aug-85 03:05:52 EDT References: <389@iham1.UUCP> <14600031@hpfcrs.UUCP> <488@utastro.UUCP> <628@psivax.UUCP> Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX Lines: 68 > >On the other hand, if one fails to submit ones research to such > >scrutiny, one as much as admits that it is not worthy of > >serious consideration. Creationists sometimes complain that their > >work would be automatically rejected, but the fact of the matter is that > >they have barely put that hypothesis to the test. A recent study > >showed that Creationists have submitted *hardly anything* > >for publication in refereed journals (except for submissions, not related > >to Creationism, in their own fields of expertise). > > > And in fact some Creationists *do* get published in refereed > journals, look at all the references to Dr. Gentry in the 116 Reasons > pamphlet. These come the *closest* of anything in it to being real > evidence. At least I feel I must treat them seriously. Gentry's work is a very interesting example of exactly what I was talking about in this paragraph. His research on polonium haloes and haloes in coalified wood is solid, if highly specialized science of the kind done every day by the vast majority of scientists. He did it according to the rules, it passed muster and was published. Under ordinary circumstances, it would have made its contribution to its field in some way, according to its importance. It is elsewhere,when Gentry started making outlandish claims as to the significance of this work that he moved out of the mainstream of science and into the fringes of Crank Science. Despite the fact that there are several quite plausible explanations of his anamolous findings, he has insisted that the *only* way they can be understood is by adopting an extreme position as regards the creation of the Earth, that completely overturns all of the rest of science. This is hardly an "Occam's Razor" approach! After all, scientists are *always* discovering anomalous data, most of which are understood in time. If we adopted Gentry's attitude, we would never accomplish anything. As has been pointed out many times here, it is unlikely that any single experiment or observation would ever, in itself, cause a scientific revolution. Such things happen only when the weight of many unresolvable anomalies forces a change of perspective. Sir Fred Hoyle is another example. Much of his earlier work was of great significance, and his work with the Burbidges and with Fowler (of recent Nobel Prize fame) on the origin of elements is still absolutely fundamental and absolutely first-class. But in recent years he seems to have moved decidedly towards the fringes. He appears to harbor a flickering hope that his now-discredited Steady-State theory of the universe might be revived. When it was proposed, the Steady-State theory was respectable, nay, provocative science. Perhaps more basic research has been done in trying to resolve the Steady-State versus Big-Bang controversy than any other issue in modern astronomy. But now, it has been cast upon the dustheap of astronomy, useful in its day but hopelessly contradicted by new evidence. Yet Sir Fred has ranged farther and farther afield, into areas (such as biology and the origins of life) in which he is not competent, searching for ways to revive his theory. Regrettably it is *this* that the Creationists have picked up on. It is really sad to see a good scientist go off the deep end like this. So the point is that people can be good scientists, and the same individuals (in other contexts) can be crank scientists. It is often difficult for those on the outside looking in to tell the difference. -- "Men never do evil so cheerfully and so completely as when they do so from religious conviction." -- Blaise Pascal Bill Jefferys 8-% Astronomy Dept, University of Texas, Austin TX 78712 (USnail) {allegra,ihnp4}!{ut-sally,noao}!utastro!bill (uucp) bill%utastro.UTEXAS@ut-sally.ARPA (ARPANET)