On Mon, 25 May 2009, OrionWorks wrote: > I would prefer to conduct my life on the initial premise of not judging > people, or at least giving them the benefit of the doubt first before > automatically condemning them to the trash heap. This has obviously > not always worked out in my favor. Reagan said it best: "Trust, but > verify."
I had a similar attitude, but over the years of encountering scammer after scammer, I had to modify it to this: When it's a free-energy claim, then always assume it's a scam. Then look for evidence that the person making the claim is honest. Do it this way because scammers don't appear dishonest. Instead, scammers commonly exhibit "missing honesty." When it's a free-energy claim, assume it's a scam, and then follow the money. Most scams are profit-driven, though some seem created only to attract fame to a dishonest fool. See my list of hints at http://amasci.com/freenrg/fnrg.html > Obviously, practicing such personal philosophy runs the risk of > opening myself up to charges of being gullible. Nah, you just need a well-designed anti-scammer firewall in your head. Just don't go overboard and fall for the Skeptic fallacy; the irrational emotional response of hostile bigotry directed at certain taboo topics. (((((((((((((((((( ( ( ( ( (O) ) ) ) ) ))))))))))))))))))) William J. Beaty SCIENCE HOBBYIST website billb at amasci com http://amasci.com EE/programmer/sci-exhibits amateur science, hobby projects, sci fair Seattle, WA 206-762-3818 unusual phenomena, tesla coils, weird sci
