On 17 March 2009 Stephen Black wrote: >I suppose it's a little late to clarify that my post was intended >as a light-hearted jest rather than serious criticism...
Thanks for the clarification, Stephen, though I think I can be forgiven for taking the following as meant seriously: >Boy, these physics types are picky. Perhaps Birkenhead did confuse >electricity and magnetism. So what?... - which reads like a plausible position (especially as the grossness of the errors is understated here), ie, Birkenhead has done a service in highlighting the scientific howler in *The Secret*, so does it matter that his rebuttal itself contains scientific errors. Stephen wrote: >Humour on the web always runs the risk of being misunderstood, >but little smiley faces spoil it. Yes, indeed! Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org ********************************************** Re:[tips] [Tips] The Secret sblack Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:13:10 -0700 On 16 Mar 2009 at 4:54, Allen Esterson wrote: > > > C'mon, Stephen! I started by thanking you for directing our attention to > the article. What more was there to say on that, as I've sure everyone on > TIPS agrees with the criticism of Oprah that was the central point of the > article? Having done that, what's wrong with my pointing out <snip> I suppose it's a little late to clarify that my post was intended as a light-hearted jest rather than serious criticism, although I did want to make the point it was perceptive of Birkenhead to note the error in like attracting like, which I certainly would have missed. Humour on the web always runs the risk of being misunderstood, but little smiley faces spoil it. My luck ran out this time. Sorry, Allen. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: [email protected] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
