[Fis] Marni Sheppeard

[Alex Hankey]

What a story, Brian!
Almost worth going through the pain,
in order to have the tale to tell!
But was Bernard Dixon's version never called out?
Maybe he was already working on it, when
yours arrived in his Inbox ?? !!
But jolly unchivalrous of him all the same.
Alex

On Sat, 25 Jan 2025 at 15:50, Prof. Brian J Ford <mail at brianjford.com>
wrote:

> I'd add that plagiarism is another risk. Fifty years ago my draft
> manuscript for my book MICROBE POSER: TOMORROW'S REVOLUTION was sent to
> Bernard Dixon - an old colleague and editor of NEW SCIENTIST. Bernard
> advised it be declined.
>
> The publisher's other reviews were enthusiastic - and when my book was
> finished and published, so was Bernard's book MAGNIFICENT MICROBES -
> covering much the same ground.
>
> Mine was more successful - it gave rise to biorecycling and in Japan I
> toured a factory where my book was their guiding text - and, when the WALL
> STREET JOURNAL reviewed it they mentioned the curious coincidental
> appearance of both books. "Of the two," they kindly wrote, "Brian J Ford
> takes the palm." Very gratifying ... but this does happen.
>
> Let caution guide your choices.
>
> Brian J Ford
>
>
>
>
> On 25.01.2025 09:45, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:
>
>
>
> On Saturday, January 25, 2025, Prof. Brian J Ford <mail at brianjford.com>
> wrote:
>
> As I mentioned in my most recent book,
>
> I am delighted to hear that you recognized this
> problem, and more crucially wrote about it.
>
> peer review is the greatest obstacle to conceptual innovation known to
> science.
>
> its initial purpose is to act as a filter. I often search
> on vixra.org which is unrestricted except that the
> work must conform to academic *layout* (its
> administrator checks), but this means that you
> have to download and read a hundred sub-par
> papers to find just one or two of any actual value.
>
> my search for a *rational* explanation of the
> Fine Structure Constant went through some
> absolute crap: I had to self-apply a Kolmogorov
> Complexity filter to the equations, but even that
> was risky: I narrowly missed dismissing one piece
> of brilliant work that noted a relationship between
> alpha, pi, cos and the number 22 because at *face
> value* the number 22 has no business being
> associated with the Fine Structure Constant.
>
> but the Kolmogorov Complexity of the equation
> was very low, and the fact that the difference to
> experimental measurement of alpha was 1e-10,
> I judged it to "pass muster"... just. and yes it
> turned out to be a really important paper.
>
> the *purpose* of Academic peer-review is to
> avoid inflicting researchers with "variation on
> a novel type of hell", but as we have seen
> recently, language-capable AI can be used to
> *auto-generate* papers that pass peer-review!
>
>
> We independent researchers must find ways past the process; you're
> unlikely to get through it
>
> several have attempted funding through Patreon
> in recent years. Marni lived on the streets begging,
> only accepting a place in Sheltered Housing in
> order to write the work she must presumably have
> been formulating whilst on the streets.
>
> hers is an extreme story. mine has... parallels.
>
> I was told by a very wise person that I could
> either spend my life and attention seeking
> business funding for an idea, or I could develop
> an idea: I could not do both.
>
> I am reminded of the competitor to the Wright
> Brothers who immediately gave up seeking
> commercial funding for his *business* idea
> of powered flight, the moment the brothers
> succeeded.
>
> in the Victorian Era and prior it was extremely
> common for researchers to approach wealthy
> businessmen (Patrons) and ask for a stipend.
> it worked for centuries.  then the 20th and 21st Century "happened".
>
> Patreon still has gaps: it doesn't fully replicate
> how research and arts funding used to be done.
>
> thank you Brian for responding. I really appreciated
> it.
>
> l.
>
>
>
> --
> ---
> geometry: without it life is pointless
> the fibonacci series: easy as 1 1 2 3
>
>

-- 
Alex Hankey M.A. (Cantab.) PhD (M.I.T.) DSc. (Hon Causa) Professor Emeritus
of Biology,
MIT World Peace University,
124 Paud Road, Pune, MA 411038
Mobile (Intn'l): +44 7710 534195
Mobile (India) +91 900 800 8789
WhatsApp: as for Mobile, India
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