Re: Rare Tachyons: A Tale of Two (Scientific) Cities

Posted by OsherDoctorow on May 12, 2003 at 10:06:46:

In Reply to: Re: Rare Tachyons: A Tale of Two (Scientific) Cities posted by DickT on May 12, 2003 at 09:43:22:

Dick,

Since you're so clear about your disagreement with me, I might as well confess that your choice of words is straight from the Mainstream in my view. The Mainstream, which you apparently do not realize is regenerated in every generation under the name of science as soon as it enters bureaucracy, thinks of itself as "free" and "going where the evidence leads" - a Freudian slip for Concrete Orientation which generally coincides with the Power Structure.

My hero Newton, as you call Sir Isaac Newton (remarkable how Professors deserve titles according to many USA scientists but not British Nobility), has recently been the subject or object of a virulent attack in the news media and books for supposedly refusing to let some astronomers publish their views when he reached a high position in later life. This reminds me of the hoax defending Heisenberg as "member of the underground" shortly after he was criticized for being Hitler's head of science in WWII, which was wishful thinking by numerous quantum physicists.

Heisenberg, when asked why he accepted Hitler's offer, replied "Loyalty to Germany." I have followed his career with great interest, and I think that "Loyalty to the Scientific Mainstream" was also very high on his priorities, which led him to fail in his attempt to build an atomic bomb or even to prioritize it.

Convergence of scientific viewpoints? The Mainstream is always converging to itself. It's not a flat earth, but a Happy Valley.

Osher Doctorow

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