At 11:39 AM 6/19/2011, Jed Rothwell wrote:
He is a very frank.He said emphatically he wants no more tests
before the 1 MW demonstration. I think that policy is ill-advised. I
do not understand it. But it is his decision, and I suppose he has his reasons.
Well, there are two possible reasons that I can see.
1. It's a fake. Obvious possible reason.
2. It's real. He doesn't want competition to be seriously funded, so
he doesn't want the reality to be clearly demonstrated.
Having been, myself, contacted by a person working with a major think
tank, that advises government and large corporations re energy policy
and technology, I know that there is interest, and if the evidence
available were not tainted by appearances that seem to be actively
being created by Rossi, if we assume he is intelligent -- which I
think is the case -- the money would start flowing, very, very rapidly.
Rossi, in what he states, has it completely backwards. If the motive
were to discredit him, it would not be originating with
"competitors," not within the field, but from competitors outside the
field. Rossi has blown the lid off of the cold fusion funding
situation, and may have realized that, and so is truly trying to
increase skepticism. It might even work.
He also said he is too busy to do a test with my instruments. That
is understandable. It takes all day. It is more involved than the
quick show-and-tell demonstration he did for Krivit. I have no
problem being told: "I cannot spare a whole day to help you."
I do not know what Krivit expected to see or whether he discussed
the agenda before he left. Frankly, if he wanted to see reports from
Levi or Galantini, he should have asked for those reports before
buying the airplane ticket. As I said, I always try to learn what it
is I will do before I set off on a trip. Rossi told me he would only
be willing to do the kind of quick demonstration he did for Krivit.
I did not wish to go all the way to Italy to see that. I told Rossi
no thank you, and there were no hard feelings. If people do not wish
to share data, there is no point to being confrontational. In my
case, there is no point to going.
Krivit has a completely different motive. He can't be the "intrepid
investigative reporter" that is the image he has constructed, with
years of effort, and ignore this story. He had to go.
Krivit often manages to create stories that are about him. Remember
his visit to Fleischmann, where, he alleged, a representative of
Dardik wouldn't allow him to talk to Fleischmann as scheduled? Krivit
turned an ordinary setback, must happen to journalists all the time,
into the whole story, replete with Krivit's speculations and thought
processes, betraying his own bias.
This situation is not quite the same, however. I don't think that
Krivit anticipated the hostile response, I suspect he stumbled into it.
I'm not convinced that he could have done it better. Maybe, but it
would have taken extraordinary skill and tact. If Krivit wants to
continue his career as investigative journalist, I'd suggest he learn
the skills. The story has to become more important than yourself.
(I no way am I suggesting that Krivit should not have asked about
steam quality. It was the obvious question. However, in theory, it
should have been possible to ask the question in such a way as to
massage Levi's ego, instead of tromping on it. "Help us out,
Professor Levi, we are trying to understand this question." ... "I
don't understand this explanation, please guide me through this, I'm
just an amateur, compared to your sophistication." "I need to explain
this to my readers, who won't have the advantage of your presence,
so, while I am, of course, convinced, based on your obvious and deep
personal integrity, I need to lay it out in detail.")
Or something like that. I'm not claiming that this is easy. No
profession is easy, is it?
