> I think it is a bit stupid to mistrust *everything* the government
> says - one has to apply sceptical thinking here too. A sceptic
> doesn't believe in what he hears, and he doesn't doubt it either. He
> tries to find out if it is true or not.
>
> So color me stupid....in thirty years of greater or lesser experience with my
> government I've learned....the hard way...not to trust them. They lie.
Nobody denies that they lie. But they don't *always* lie, and not
*everything* they say is intended to fool you. That makes it harder.
One should not trust them, but listening to them might sometimes be
useful (especially by discovering what they are not telling).
> Back on the subject. I can only go by what I read. What I read is
that > papers are submitted to the above mentioned Journals....and
are rejected out > of hand....not being familar with the process I
can only speculate.
Well, the review process is rather cumbersome for everyone and most
papers are rejected at the first (and second, and tenth...) attempt
to get them published. Scientists just have to go on submitting them,
trying to find a journal with sympathetic reviewers (or bad quality
:-( ). There are issues which tend to get rejected more easily than
others, that is unfortunately true, but it would be amazing if a well
researched if controversial experiment couldn't get published
*anywhere*. Remember that even the infamous and subsequently debunked
"water memory" paper was published in Nature.
The scientific process is tricky and occasionally irritatingly
conservative, but there is no need for evil conspiracies suppressing
ideas (they have so little to gain).
Apropos pseudoscience, I got an email today which quite well
illustrates the typical way pesudoscientists concentrate on how
oppressed they are instead of finding evidence for their views; it is
somewhat morbid, but quite revealing (I have no idea of if Marinov
actually did useful research, and do not make any claims about it,
it is the rhetoric which is so typical):
-----------------
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 19:12:27 -0800
From: "M.Twain" <none@leland.stanford.edu>
To: [long list deleted for brevity]
Subject: Stefan Marinov 'successful'
World-friend,
I received word today, from Francisco Muller, that Stefan Marinov -- to
my regret -- successfully suicided this week.
I never met Marinov, but had read of his previous self-immolation
threats or attempts. All for the purpose of bringing the truth to
light; of the covert nature of world physics, and the truth of free
'energy', aenertia or aether.
Isn't it time we wiped the slate clean -- of the ruling mindset of
deliberate lies, conformist media, selfish misdirection and criminal
destruction?
We have precious little time,
Millennium Twain
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Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension!
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