MarkI-ZeroPoint <zeropo...@charter.net> wrote: Now we have another process to go thru in order to publish:**** > > **- **he takes a week or two to write it up and sends it to the > editor in England (6 weeks)**** > > **- **the editor then sends copies to peers who have the > expertise to critique the paper (days (if local) to weeks)**** > > **- **the reviewers send their > comments/criticisms/recommendations back to the editor (days to weeks)**** > > **- **the editor sends the suggestions/criticisms back to > Franklin; he revises his paper; sends it back to the editor (2 to 3 months) >
They did not do that stuff back then, for the obvious reason that it would take too long. The Royal Society got letters from their members and published them verbatim. There was nothing like modern peer-review. That's a good thing, too. It might have taken an extra 200 years to launch the industrial revolution, with the dead weight of peer-review holding back progress. The Royal Soc. published his first batch of letters between 1747 and 1750. I do not recall when he became a member. It is true that long distance discussions took a lot longer. You should see the letters between Franklin and various others. You can see how they managed it. Now that we have e-mail the techniques of long-distance, long duration communication is being lost. It will not be revived for some time, because the longest distance in the solar system is several light-hours I think. I suppose it will be revised if people begin interstellar colonization. I do not recall that he corresponded with Jefferson. - Jed
