Re: Quantum Gravity 23 (abbreviated from Quantum Gravity...): Baez vs Doctorow
- From: "OsherD" <mdoctorow@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 17 Mar 2006 23:24:09 -0800
From Osher Doctorow mdoctorow@xxxxxxxxxxx
Hexenmeister typed:
John Baez is an arrogant lying tord without a clue, here is the proof:
http://www.androcles01.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Baez/people_v_Baez.htm
Androcles
I don't know Baez, but after reading his and his friends' crackpot
lists and/or similar types of exclusionary lists, I'd say that he
definitely doesn't qualify for the Nonconformist List, which to me is a
very strong criticism of any person. He does know an awful lot of
physics and mathematics - almost an encyclopedic amount (present
company excepted). I think that he does mean well (very well in fact)
not only for physics but for physics students and faculty and even for
mathematics and mathematicians. And he has contributed a lot of very
good stuff on the internet and in publications.
Of course, there are some exceptions to Baez' contributions other than
the first sentence above. I notice that in his 2001
sci.physics.research posting (which I think I cited earlier in this
thread), he made some snide remarks about people who criticize Category
Theory (one of his pet mathematical theories). Basically, the
University of California and most State Universities and Community
Colleges (other than U. Texas Austin and U. Florida Gainesville to my
knowledge, though there may be other exceptions) together with most USA
Private Universities except Princeton, Stanford, MIT, CalTech, and one
or two others, arguably should be put on a Conformist List (U. Chicago
is another exception).
We need Conformists. They do a lot of drudgery work as Ingenious
Imitators. My experiences indicate that each Ingenious Imitator has
one Creative Genius discovery/invention in his/her lifetime unless
he/she is fortunate enough to abandon Conformity. I think that at that
rate of discoveries, Shakespeare's Typing Monkeys would probably have a
good contest with Conformists for who could reproduce Shakespeare or
perhaps Einstein/Heisenberg and go a little bit beyond too in a few
billion years or so. But the Creative Geniuses in my opinion do come
from the pool of Ingenious Imitators, usually very Rarely and after
extremely stressful lives in which they abandon Conformity.
I hope that there are better species around somewhere in the Universe.
In fact, even non-human earthbound animals seem to have less Conformity
in some respects than humans and more control over their psychic
abilities. Perhaps we should send a neutered cat or even a neutered
dog as the next astronaut into space. Clifford Simak of science
fiction, himself a Creative Genius, thought that someday dogs capable
of changing dimensions would take over from human beings when the
latter ran out of "steam". It wouldn't surprise me at all.
Osher Doctorow
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