Re: Presumption of amateur status

On Sep 12, 5:45 pm, galathaea <galath...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Sep 12, 7:22 am, PD <TheDraperFam...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:



There has been a rash lately, another in a periodic chain of rashes
(kind of like herpes), of posters here making what I believe is a poor
assumption: that everyone that frequents the group is an amateur.

Such an assumption lends a sense of security to amateur posters and in
particular cranks, because it allows them to think that as long as
they pose well, no one will be in a position to question their stance.
It affords them both equal claim and absolution from accountability,
wherein they feel free to say, "Well, you really don't know any more
about this than I do," or "My opinion/guess/theory about this is as
good as yours." What they're looking for is a physics karioke venue,
an open-mic nite, where anyone can get up and take a shot without fear
of being booed or even recognized as talentless.

When challenged by those who perhaps do have some expertise in the
subject matter, a crank will question the expertise of the respondent,
on the basis that a real physicist would not be taking the time to
post responses on sci.physics. The assumption is that only retirees,
the unemployed, or the sofa hobbyists are the ones that bother to look
at sci.physics.

What's ironic about this is that the same cranks post to sci.physics
with the expressed hope to enlighten the world and to find an outlet
for their science-revolutionizing ideas. So they post to a venue that
they believe is inhabited only by amateurs. This is as genuine as
someone who claims to be be a star-quality singer but who refuses to
sing in any other venue than a karioke bar. "What? Sing in a concert
hall? I wouldn't be caught dead participating in that inbred network!"
It's as pathetic as it is transparent.

Moreover, it's wrong. There certainly are physicists who feel it is
*part of their job* to participate in discussions with amateurs and
hobbyists, both to encourage amateurs where they are right and to
dissuade them where they are known to be wrong and wasting their time.
To tell a physicist that he can't be a physicist if he's participating
in sci.physics is like telling a policeman that frequently visits
grade school classrooms that a real policeman would be on the streets
and not in the grade schools, like telling a professional singer that
they aren't welcome in karioke bars and that a professional singer
would obviously have no interest in a karioke bar.

If you think sci.physics is an amateurs-only venue, then you're in the
wrong place.

the reason that there are so few professionals in sci.physics
is precisely because it became it infested with bullies
who take the very unprofessional stand of demeaning posters
instead of addressing any issues raised

at least
that's what john baez said...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
galathaea: prankster, fablist, magician, liar

And furthermore what makes a 'professional' physicist great?
That he makes money? That he teaches students?
I have met plenty of credentialed people whose ass and elbow are
interconnected.
The OP has a closed minded approach and steerage and control are the
obsession of the practiced professor. That is the sad state of the
human mind. Shutting down discourse is a very different approach from
encouraging substantial discourse. Errancy is allowable and it is the
ability to be open to one's own errancy that should be promoted here.
Will anyone concede that professors become control freaks? That they
suffer the same problems as many of the posters here is evidenced by
the need for filtration through journals. Let's see these men play it
out in the open and I am afraid we would just see more of the same but
even harsher. I prefer the example of galathaea over that of PD. It is
rare that I make such acidic remarks so directly but such has been my
interaction and I am strongly against any such rule by declaration in
this forum as PD makes time and time again. The club of elite feel an
ability to declare the truth to those who have not jumped through the
hoops. This is a ground where we can make our own hoops to jump and
dive through and all such problems are open. That some have been good
dogs all of their lives does not yield them the freedoms that a non-
conformist takes. In this way there may be value to all approaches and
the risks that are taken should be encouraged rather than discouraged.
All of human knowledge is constructed and the ability to make
constructions is not at all a part of the academic process in the
areas
of physics and mathematics. So the academicians who Drape themselves
in gold cloth are not by necessity worth the weight of the cloth when
it is torn from them.

-Tim

.

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