Jared v. Hovind

.Good for you. Go for it. Perhaps, you can enlighten us with your speciality in biophysics and mathematics. I have one question for everybody here. Ph.D is a Ph.D no matter where it comes from. What about the mediocre Ph.D's from prestigious universities? What are they accomplishing. Dr.Hovind may be a "Cook". But, he has stirred up lot of controversy. He is making many in academics to self examine their own positions. He must be complimented atleast for this. This is an accomplishment.

Science is a prestigious journal. It also published an article by Anton LaVey. In his quest for finding out the cause for AIDS and homosexuality, he did an experiment and got the paper published in Science .He demonstrated that the hypothalamus in homosexuals is smaller than those of normal heterosexual men. There was almost no control. The experimental subjects did not qualify as subjects. The experimental design was so sloppy. This man was criticised from every corner in the scientific community. Anton Lavey quit his prestigious position in the Salk institute. He also quit Science. So much for the credibility of Science and the Scientist.Nature also published a paper in which a new fertility factor was identified in Seminal fluid. After the paper was published, the principal author had requests from all over the world for samples. The author persuaded the Graduate Student to make more of this factor. He could not repeat that experiment. REASON:It was discovered that During Summer, the power went off. The freezer failed. Semen was kept thawed for 3 days.Some bacteria settled in. The semen contaminated with bacteria was used for the study and the factor was identified. Later on, all precautions were taken to preserve the semen samples. The experiment could never be repeated. No one knows what this factor is. Yet,he got his Ph.D anyway. Many years prior to this,the principal author plagiarised the work of a well known protein chemist. Somehow, he escaped punishment. He was rewarded. He is a director of a prestigious laboratory getting lots of grants.This is unbelievable. yet true. So much for the credibility of our Scientists. If this is competitive endeavor, then where is ETHICS in Science?This message has been edited by inkorrekt, 04-25-2006 11:16 PM

Scientific fraud is common. The resaons are many. The quest for Tenure and grants is so serious that people are willing to do anything. Who has the time and money to verify the authenticity and claims of those who publish papers? That means, we are left with false data and wrong conclusions. So much for competitive endeavor.

I have been there. I was asked to extrapolate the results of one experiment and make it 10 in order to submit a paper for a conference. I refused. My grants were cut off. In that lab, this was the practise, It was a paper mill.

Why do you not take the money and run? This remark is totally unwarranted. This is a mockery of every one in this forum.

I am sure you know this very well if have been in academics. After knowing how sensitive this issue is, is it right on your part to ask for more information? Only the "perpetrators" and those around them know what is going on. Unless those who call themselves as Scientiists restrain themselves and exercise personal responsibility and accountability, no one can do anything about this. However, there are many hugry lawyers who are willing to make somebody's life miserable for the almighty "dollar"

When Logic and reasoning fail, Emotions take over.

This is also a public forum. We are here to discuss issues with rationality. If you have not heard anything like this or have not experienced yourself does not mean that they do not exist.This is life and we have to live with this. Giving more information here will cause public embarrassment. I am not going to use this forum for this.