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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Dear Colleagues,</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">When I was working in the chemical industry, my company
was often confronted with very difficult competitive situations. The response of
some co-workers was to propose projects which offered rapid, low-cost, almost
magic solutions. Unfortunately, these people offered no scientific evidence to
support the projects: some references were made to outdated or inaccessible
research, others to circular self-confirming reports by other members of the
in-group (A confirms B, B confirms C, C confirms A, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">etc.</I>). Over-determination was a frequent
strategy: by ascribing apparently exact properties to or an exact place and time
of the alleged support, these people attempted to get further credibility for
it. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Another characteristic was
their totalitarian approach: not the slightest point was allowed to be
questioned, when a simple second experiment would have immediately revealed the
error in it. A final typical characteristic was that the proponents of the
projects stood to gain substantial personal rewards in salary and position,
regardless of the outcomes. While the projects of the kind I describe were
eventually rejected by management, much time and effort in terms of scarce
resources in personnel and facilities (pilot plants) was
wasted.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=2>Of course, such kinds of things happen only in industry . .
.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=2>Best wishes, </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 1.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=2>Joseph</FONT> </SPAN></DIV>
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