Hear Ye, Here Ye, ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS!
$100 PRIZE OFFERED LITERATURE SCAVENGER HUNT I, Wayne (Stickler/Scrooge) Tyson will pay the sum of $100 US to the first student who, in good faith, sends to me, by year's end, the greatest number of published references, including separate electronic copies of the papers, citing the use of the terms "progress," "advance," "improvement,"or equivalent terms implying teleology in works on or about evolution, complete with page numbers and highlights of the incidences. In the case of books and other works for which no electronic copy is available, I will accept a scan of the title page and the pages containing the examples of this practice. If scanning is not possible, I will accept paper copies by mail. For students not having free access to electronic works, I will accept typed or legible handwritten lists. All entries must provide a count at the top of the submittal and all items must be consecutively numbered. Any "shady" claims like duplications or special pleadings and technical "gotchas" or other tricks, no matter how common or ingenious will disqualify the entry. All submittals must be in English, but translations of works in other languages may be accepted. A bonus will be considered if a concise (brief but complete; the briefer the better) essay on the subject is submitted along with the list of references, but an essay is not required. Each entry must include a declaration that the work was done without assistance entirely by the person making the submittal. All entries will be kept confidential unless a statement granting permission to publicize personal information. All submittals become the property of Wayne Tyson. The date of the award will be dependent upon the time it takes me to process all of the submissions. If the volume of submittals is too great to determine the winner within a reasonable time, it may be necessary to review only a random sample or the first 100 submittals received in which case the winner will be based on the sample rather than the entire number of submittals, so speed is of the essence, so to speak. In the case of ties, I will use a subjective measure of quality to determine the winner. Please spread the word; being an Ecolog subscriber is not required and the offer is open worldwide. Only the winner will be notified. WT I hope that professors will consider giving course credit to students who concurrently submit their work in any course, regardless of said course's apparent relevance to evolution.
