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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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 Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 5:17 am Post subject: Prof Fired From Oil Team Due to �Controversial Writings' |
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aJA4QI8nwGAk
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May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Jonathan I. Katz, a physics professor at Washington University in St. Louis., said he was fired from the team of scientists chosen by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to help BP Plc control the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
�Some of Professor Katz�s controversial writings have become a distraction from the critical work of addressing the oil spill,� Stephanie Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, said in an e-mail today. �Professor Katz will no longer be involved in the department�s efforts.�
Chu brought Katz to Houston last week along with four other experts, Richard L. Garwin, a physicist and IBM Fellow Emeritus, George Cooper, a civil-engineering professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Alexander Slocum, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, and Tom Hunter, president of Sandia Corp., which manages research for the Energy Department�s National Nuclear Security Administration. |
Here is the article he was fired for:
http://wuphys.wustl.edu/~katz/defense.html
The "distraction" was that special interest groups (leftist enforcers of group think - though leftists are not alone in this type of behaviour) had demanded his removal.
I'm sure that there are other qualified individuals in the United States that can replace Katz. That said, it is unreasonable to fire an individual who has been picked as one of 4 experts because of an unrelated opinion he holds. Either he is one of the 4 most useful people for the task or he isn't. If he is, his contribution is more important than his opinions on gays.
The super-intelligent are going to have opinions that deviate from the dumb-ass mainstream consensus view. What is the point in having public intellectuals if they must nod their heads in agreement at whatever fetish the peasants are fussing over? |
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OneWayTraffic
Joined: 14 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 1:05 pm Post subject: |
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Ahh, it's good to see again that the brilliant can hold nutty views. Refreshes my faith in the failings of humanity. He does make his point very well, though I disagree with his last point. When I get behind the wheel of a car, do I accept responsibility for those who've killed people driving? If I go a few kilometers over the limit, do I share guilt for someone who drives at 80km/h down a city street and kills a child? No though of course I should take care when I drive and accept that accidents happen, so I need to be careful.
But this has nothing to do with the oil spill. |
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.38 Special
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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"In Defense of Homophobia" ..... ?
I skimmed a few lines, realized that it wasn't some kind of Swift-like essay, and then exited immediately for fear that my browser had been hijacked.
I must say I'm rather confused. He was fired from the "oil team" because he doesn't like homosexuals?
I can understand if he was somehow using his position on the oil team to somehow spread his ideology... But I don't think that's the case insofar as this is the first time I've ever heard of him.
But perhaps I'm simply misunderstanding the whole conflict here. Perhaps my browser really did take a wrong turn at Albuquerque.   |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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That's a pretty awful essay. It has that same didactic, faux-academic style as the Unabomber Manifesto.
But I agree. If it has nothing to do with the oil spill, he shouldn't be fired from the team because of it. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Yes, that really is a bad essay. I wonder if he's as bad a lecturer as he is a writer. |
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djsmnc
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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You can't be a homophobe when you're with men handling big drills
Don't plan on plugging holes if you're a homophobe
A homophobe just can't handle the large tubes |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| bucheon bum wrote: |
| Yes, that really is a bad essay. I wonder if he's as bad a lecturer as he is a writer. |
He almost assuredly is; a lot of guys in the sciences are. It's important to remember that competency and insight with regards to the physical sciences doesn't necessarily transfer into competency and insight into other fields. He might be very knowledgable about his field, but when it comes to matters like this, he's seemingly little better than a forum troller. |
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.38 Special
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 5:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Fox wrote: |
| bucheon bum wrote: |
| Yes, that really is a bad essay. I wonder if he's as bad a lecturer as he is a writer. |
He almost assuredly is; a lot of guys in the sciences are. It's important to remember that competency and insight with regards to the physical sciences doesn't necessarily transfer into competency and insight into other fields. He might be very knowledgable about his field, but when it comes to matters like this, he's seemingly little better than a forum troller. |
I resent that! Not all trolls are inarticulate! Indeed, our capacities for conversation and the diverse other communications are often quite sophisticated and frequently underestimated. |
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djsmnc
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe
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| Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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| .38 Special wrote: |
| Fox wrote: |
| bucheon bum wrote: |
| Yes, that really is a bad essay. I wonder if he's as bad a lecturer as he is a writer. |
He almost assuredly is; a lot of guys in the sciences are. It's important to remember that competency and insight with regards to the physical sciences doesn't necessarily transfer into competency and insight into other fields. He might be very knowledgable about his field, but when it comes to matters like this, he's seemingly little better than a forum troller. |
I resent that! Not all trolls are inarticulate! Indeed, our capacities for conversation and the diverse other communications are often quite sophisticated and frequently underestimated. |
I wholeheartedly agree. The only downside to trolling is that it leads to unpredictable conclusions, argument, and the feeling that a lot of time has been wasted on fruitless debate. However, considering that fruitful online debate provides little to no benefit or end product, it is certainly no less worthwile to troll than make a meaningful response! |
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.38 Special
Joined: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:08 am Post subject: |
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| djsmnc wrote: |
| .38 Special wrote: |
| Fox wrote: |
| bucheon bum wrote: |
| Yes, that really is a bad essay. I wonder if he's as bad a lecturer as he is a writer. |
He almost assuredly is; a lot of guys in the sciences are. It's important to remember that competency and insight with regards to the physical sciences doesn't necessarily transfer into competency and insight into other fields. He might be very knowledgable about his field, but when it comes to matters like this, he's seemingly little better than a forum troller. |
I resent that! Not all trolls are inarticulate! Indeed, our capacities for conversation and the diverse other communications are often quite sophisticated and frequently underestimated. |
I wholeheartedly agree. The only downside to trolling is that it leads to unpredictable conclusions, argument, and the feeling that a lot of time has been wasted on fruitless debate. However, considering that fruitful online debate provides little to no benefit or end product, it is certainly no less worthwile to troll than make a meaningful response! |
Indubitably, good sir! It is no doubt illusions wrought of the ego that any consequence instigated here is transferable to factual circumstance. Indeed, it is to fellate one's own sense of importance to assume that debates herein translate to the real forums dictating causality in the wider world.
Thus, I propose: I enjoy ham  |
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