blaze spinnaker <[email protected]> wrote: Well, I think everyone accepts some form of cold fusion. I don't see that > in doubt at all.
I agree with Ed. Very very people accept any form of cold fusion. Most scientists and decision makers know nothing at all about cold fusion. Most of them say it was never replicated, and no peer reviewed papers on the subject were ever published, so obviously they know nothing. As for the bet that is the subject of this thread, it is a wager on how people will behave. On whether people will be rational or irrational, smart or stupid. History shows that you cannot predict such things. If this were a bet about the nature of cold fusion itself, I might take part (even though I do not approve of betting). However, this has nothing to do with the technical merits of cold fusion, so I have no insight into the matter. Except I do know that people have been terribly foolish about cold fusion, and many important people have gone out on a limb attacking it. So it is reasonable to predict they will continue to oppose it. I have been watching this year's weekly NHK Historical Drama "Yae no sakura" (http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Yae_no_Sakura) about the events surrounding the Meiji Restoration from 1860 to 1868 (so far). I am familiar with this history but it is still surprising to see how much opposition there was to opening the country. The die-hard opponents continued to fight long after it was clear they had lost, and even after the Tokugawa Shogun resigned and the new Meiji government was installed. People cling to illusions and delusions. - Jed
