> I can agree with you on the grounds that within our current resource
> constraints, we have to more prudent in prioritizing what we spend our
> money on, and the 'Face on Mars' may certainly not fall into that
> category. What I object to is the unfair categorization you have
> thrown on Mac Tonnies. Calling him a 'crackpot' IMHO crossed the line
> from civility to bullying. As extropians I expect that we can make
> the most sincere attempts to resist such temptations despite our all
> too human urges to the contrary.
Mr. Tonnies may not be a rabid crackpot like Hoagland, but my post "how to spot a crackpot" pointed out common rhetorical tricks and and easily-spotted signs of such psychoceramics that critical thinkers should recognize and beware of. If pointing out bullshit in uncivil, then civility is overrated.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC