Posted: Oct 28, 2011 7:02 pm
Paul wrote:Just to remind you what you said was (my emphasis)Brain man wrote:The number of mods who were on power trips at RDF now eating humble pie in forums and meetups where they are shunned or considered badly is a testament to the factthat in science people remember these activities. Its not like business or other fields where you can just get away with this kind of thing, then move on into the crowd to your next project and its all forgotten. Science has a very long term memory.
The two major fallouts at RDF had nothing to do with science (other than RD wanting to get rid of the "frivolous" aspects of RDF)
One particular individual who is possibly "shunned" in some forums (but not at meetups) is not being shunned by scientists per se, he is shunned by ex-RDF members some of whom who may also be scientists.
Richard specifically said that the activity was irrellavent to the business of science and reason.
It is not reasonable to put fringe theory into pseudoscience. Richard himself rebuked and was disdainful of systems theorists in his younger years and now those people have made it back from fringe into the mainstream again. The system was already hard, but whats going on now is a disgrace and making a farce of the creative advancement of knowledge basically to profit from entertaining judge judy style rabble rousing.
NOTE: when i mean profit, that does not mean just financial profit, but any kind of gain, if it be pleasure gained from being able to ridicule something or the chance to form a goal directed group at the expense of another minority.