N.Wells
Posts: 1836 Joined: Oct. 2005
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Quote (GaryGaulin @ July 25 2015,16:37) | Quote (Woodbine @ July 25 2015,15:12) | Quote (GaryGaulin @ July 25 2015,19:56) | Our state university is having its budget axed real good by our state governor. I'm now just an example that encourages other states to do the same. |
What are you an example of, Gary? |
The example being set is not controlled by me. I'm just enduring what the trillion dollar education system my wife and I personally pay thousands of dollars a year for in taxes (others much more) get in return for our investment in an academic system that's supposed to be there when we need them. Going to one of the academic websites like Panda's Thumb ends up linking to this forum where we find what looks more like a frat house that needs to be shut down before the public hazings end up in the evening news. That is in part caused by a forum like this not being an academic center of activity, that's for sure. It's not the forum's fault that greater academia is not more involved in PT and this thread but that's what we have here. And needing for everything academically important to be said through a science journal is just another way for academics to conveniently ignore scientific issues that academia is itself supposed to be responsible for keeping up with and participating in. |
Quote | and the no ID allowed warnings that even the Templeton Foundation uses makes it obvious that some parts of the greater "academic system" have a public policy that will not even allow their people to look at work like mine. |
No one anywhere in legitimate scientific research is prohibited from looking at your rubbish. On the other hand, nothing that you have done indicates that anyone needs to pay attention to it, and much much of what you have done demonstrates convincingly that it is best ignored.
You can get your ideas into science via conferences as well as publications (books and papers). You are welcome to explore more esoteric routes such as internet stuff. For instance there's a huge amount of scientifically valuable statistics stuff on the internet, plus all kinds of data archives, short courses, lectures, and immensely useful tools such as image analysis software, converters for carbon-14 dates, and keys to fossils, organisms, minerals, java applets that demonstrate complex ideas, and so on.
However, what all of that stuff has that yours doesn't is demonstrated value. Beyond that, there's all kinds of crap of no worth at all, or even negative worth. That's where yours fits. The job of science is to ignore that stuff or counter it. Where you see academic snobbery, everyone else sees you failing to reach minimum standards for serious consideration.
Quote | those who believe science only comes from academia therefore all money and resources must be thrown at it alone. |
I don't know anyone who fits that description, so I think you are being delusional.
There always has been and still is a role for amateurs in science (e.g., Charles Darwin!). More to the point, Mike Taylor, Andrea Cau, Ray Stanford, John Catalani, Mickey Mortimer, Richard & Mary Leakey (sort of).
An instructive example (especially for you) of both the promises and pitfalls of amateur participation in science and doing it wrong is Dave Peters, who did some truly wonderful children's books on dinosaurs ( http://babbletrish.blogspot.com/2011.......ks.html ) and was developing a good reputation for some specialized research on pterosaurs, but then went overboard on a bizarre and unsupportable "technique" for examining fossils. He developed a habit of making bizarre and unsupported assertions (hmm, sounds like someone we know), which caused him to fall into disregard by serious researchers. Check out his https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/....ess....ess.com and reptileevolution.com which superficially look quite impressive, but to read why he no longer has any influence in academia, see http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapo....ion-com http://paleoking.blogspot.com/2011.......rs.html http://bigcat.fhsu.edu/biology....cle.pdf http://archosaurian.deviantart.com/journal....2557657 http://theropoddatabase.blogspot.com/2012....ks.html
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