Axil Axil <[email protected]> wrote: To avoid being laughed at and eventually fired, the people at NASA need a > politically correct theory to legitimate their interest in cold fusion. >
Maybe, but I think they sincerely believe the W-L theory has merit. I have had some dealings with them, and they seem like NASA people from central casting. That is to say sincere, mentally straight, morally awake (the boy scout oath). There is a lot wrong with NASA, but when they are good, they are very, very good. As in the movie Apollo 13. I think that was an accurate portrayal of their culture. They are engineers. Engineers tend to be somewhat conformist and maybe too conservative for my taste, but they can be the most honest people around. They are not like certain academic scientists I know, who are egoists and and a pain in the butt. Ditto Mormon scientists such as Melvin Miles. He is not humble -- far from it! But he says things like: 'Peer review is valuable when it is done right. Peer-reviewers of my papers have often found serious errors and made important suggestions for improvements.' (Quoting from memory.) You seldom hear a top expert admit that he makes mistakes. Military officers are another group of admirable people. They are often underestimated because, like NASA engineers, they are not in it for the money. In modern America a educated, hard working person who is not trying to make a huge salary is considered a freak. My mother worked with a wide variety of people, especially during the upheavals of WWII. In the late 40s she did a study with the U.S. Army about housing and dependent families. She said she never met such selfless, dedicated, hard-working people as the officers in charge. They wanted the truth from her. Not politics. - Jed
