[escepticos] Los premios Ig-Nobel

[planetario@...>]

----------
| De: Mike Epstein <michael.epstein en NIST.GOV>
| A: WIZARDS-STAR-LIST en SSR.COM
| Asunto: Follow up on Bockris Ig Nobel Award
| Fecha: martes 14 de octubre de 1997 17:27
| 
| For your amusement:
| 
| The Ig Nobel homepage including the 1997 award and archives from previous
| years is at:
| http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/ig_nobel/
| 
| Bockris received his PHYSICS award for "for his wide-ranging achievements
| in cold fusion, in the transmutation of base elements into gold, and in
the
| electrochemical incineration of domestic rubbish."  A Texas A&M press
| release on Dr. Bockris' activities can be found at:
| http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/news/backup/040497-4.htm
| and articles on his activities:
| R. Pool, Science, "Alchemy Altercation at Texas A&M, Nov 1993, vol. 262,
| p.1367.
| Newsweek, "All That Glitters Isn't Chemistry", Jan 10, 1994, p. 53
| 
| Illuminating are a few of Dr. Bockris' comments at the end of a chapter
| titled Electrons, Interfaces and Societies in the 21st century in
| ELECTROCHEMISTRY IN TRANSITION, edited by Oliver J. Murphy et al. Plenum
| Press, NY, 1992.  It is updated from a lecture given by Dr. Bockris in
| Toronto in 1988.
| 
| "Before I decided finally to take the plunge to be a scientist, I used to
| study philosophy. There I learned that there were several ways whereby
one
| could attempt to realize truths..."
| 
| "A panoply of alleged new phenomena are now spread out and waiting
further
| study and evaluation as to the consequences for science if they are
| verified. They are, by definition, phenomena impossible to conceive in
| terms of the present physics. Admittedly, the majority of the claimed
| effects have not been authenticated at a level of scientific research and
| do remain in a realm where the anecdote and the sworn account (but
| thousands of the same kinds of anecdotes and accounts for centuries in
all
| countries) are the basis to the assertions.  Until the requisite
controlled
| experiments have been done, this large Pandora's box will remain closed."
| 
| One shouldn't forget that Dr. Bockris has published/edited 15 books and
| over 600 papers in electrochemistry ... high quality work.  Perhaps had
Dr.
| Bockris waited for "authentication at a level of scientific research"
| rather than becoming an advocate, he would not have been honored with the
| Ig Nobel. 
| 
| Here's the abstract from a lecture he presented at NASA, Goddard
| (Greenbelt, MD) in Nov, 1993:
| 
| "The speaker will put forward evidence which indicates that long-assumed
| rules regarding the integrity of the nucleus are not applicable to
| situations in which the materials concerned are held within a lattice of
| other metals rather than in a plasma.  In such a case, nuclear reactions
| may occur at low energies. One example is a reaction in palladium by
which
| deuterium becomes tritium (note: here he is talking about cold fusion).
| Other examples include the production of heat and the formation of
calcium
| from potassium when one electrolyses light water on nickel and the
| formation of iron from carbon in an arc under water.  French and Japanese
| workers have also reported nuclear changes in biological organisms (note:
| here he means biotranmutation ... the work of Kervran and others)"
| 
| And here's another thought for general discussion:  SHOULD SCIENTISTS BE
| PERMITTED TO INVESTIGATE PARANORMAL PHENOMENA, NO MATTER HOW OUTLANDISH
AND
| BIZARRE, WITHOUT FEAR OF REPRISAL FROM THEIR COLLEAGUES? It appears, at
| least at the beginning, that was what Bockris was doing. But then he
became
| an advocate.
| 
| As a chemist, I am proud to note that there was apparently no CHEMISTRY
| award presented this year ... at least none is listed for 1997.  On the
| other hand, John Bockris is an electrochemist, not a physicist, so
perhaps
| the award was mis-catagorized.  On the other hand, I recall a Bob Park's
| statement to the effect that behind almost every piece of pseudoscience
is
| a physicist.
| 
| 
| 
| Mike Epstein
| Research Chemist
| National Institute of Standards and Technology
| Michael.Epstein en nist.gov
| http://esther.la.asu.edu/sas/epstein/epstein.html
| 
| Check out our new Spectrochemical Methods Group page at:
| http://www.cstl.nist.gov/nist839/839.01/spectro.htm
| 
| ---------
| "This is indeed a mystery" remarked Watson. "What do you imagine that it
| means?"
| "I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has
data.
| Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of
theories to
| suit facts." -- Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia
| ---------