Slashdot Mirror
Ununoctium Wrapup
rkowen writes "Finding superheavy element 118 would have been a giant step in the quest for the conjectured island of nuclear stability. But now the claimed discovery is thought to have been part of a pattern of deception by one physicist that goes back to 1994." We've done several previous stories: the discovery, hints of trouble, possible fraud. Between this and the Schon case one might think the physics community was full of frauds.
(sets timer for first post by the curmudgeonly, crass, crackpot physics naysayer from last time around)
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
not even microsoft is being called frauds and their efforts in "Trustworthy Computing", have been reaching levels of comedy hysteria. This isn't damaging the physics community as long as we have far worse examples of 'deception' in our faces.
From:
Subject: STOP THE MLM INSANITY - (permission request)
Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 10:36:54
Greetings!
You are receiving this letter because you have expressed an interest in receiving information about online business opportunities. If this is erroneous then please accept my most sincere apology. This is a one-time mailing, so no removal is necessary.
If you've been burned, betrayed, and back-stabbed by multi-level marketing, MLM, then please read this letter. It could be the most important one that has ever landed in your Inbox.
MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING IS A HUGE MISTAKE FOR MOST PEOPLE
MLM has failed to deliver on its promises for the past 50 years. The pursuit of the "MLM Dream" has cost hundreds of thousands of people their riends, their fortunes and their sacred honor. The fact is that MLM is fatally flawed, meaning that it CANNOT work for most people.
The companies and the few who earn the big money in MLM are NOT going to tell you the real story. FINALLY, there is someone who has the courage to cut through the hype and lies and tell the TRUTH
about MLM.
HERE'S GOOD NEWS
There IS an alternative to MLM that WORKS, and works BIG! If you haven't yet abandoned your dreams, then you need to see this. Earning the kind of income you've dreamed about is easier than
you think!
With your permission, I'd like to send you a brief letter that will tell you WHY MLM doesn't work for most people and will then introduce you to something so new and refreshing that you'll wonder
why you haven't heard of this before.
I promise that there will be NO unwanted follow up, NO sales pitch, no one will call you, and your email address will only be used to send you the information. Period.
To receive this free, life-changing information, simply email me at:
be_f111@poetic.com or be_f111@dr.com, type "Send Info" in the Subject box and Send. Do not reply to this email. Make sure you type "Send Info" on the subject box otherwise I will not be able to
send you the information. I'll get the information to you within 24 hours. Just look for the words MLM WALL OF SHAME in your Inbox.
Cordially,
Elaine
P.S. Someone recently sent the letter to me and it has been the most eye-opening, financially beneficial information I have ever received. I honestly believe that you will feel the same way once you've read it. And it's FREE!
Except for that PhysicsGenius guy. He's the Real Thing.
Best Slashdot Co
total bullshit.
Evolution is such a lie. NO PROOF WHATSOEVER.
God said this would happen. Ya'll all gonna burn, bitches, whilst I fuck the heaven's maidens like its, well, Paradise.
Boo-Yahhh!
He said one might think. Not that you might think or that he might think. Chill out.
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
We've done several previous stories: the discovery, hints of trouble, possible fraud. Between this and the Schon case one might think the physics community was full of frauds.
Is Michael 'censorware.org' Simms editorializing like an idiot again? I think so. After all, if you have several stories on one thing, it's a MUCH bigger deal than if you just had one story. Especially on a sight where fools have had the same story posted twice in a day, let alone the repeat of a year ago stories that come out on a weekly basis.
Hey Micheal: Suck it.
You're not even a fucking scientist. Geez.
Really, only a loser would 'edit' Slashdot stories. What a joke.
That's right, let this dis just 'roll off of you.'
I'd let it simmer a bit, and go read Omni, a true science magazine. Geez.
Agreed. Just the facts, Michael. Every industry and science is prone to human fallibility/fraud, from archaeology to chemistry and physics. That's not news or even noteworthy.
If you had some kind of worthwhile editorial comments to add, you wouldn't get this backlash. You've added nothing but a sniping comment that has absolutely nothing to do with science and the realities of the GOOD things that come out of it every day, and shows nothing but contempt, ignorance, and a tendency towards tabloid-style knee-jerk reactions.
To paraphrase Marge Simpson:
"THINK before you say the words!"
i'm amazed that i survived - an airbag saved my life.
This is the perfect opportunity for some sharks with some freakin lasers on their heads!
On the other hand, this does not mean that we must stop flaming him for public displays of stupidity.
i agree. michael is a raving blatherskite. it would be cool if we could suppress his idiotic comments without eliminating stories he posts altogether (if _this_ is even possible).
more proof that megalomaniac editors with unlimited mod points does not make a good moderation system. seems like michael sims can dish it out, but can't take it himself. the comment is an on topic, editorial response to your comment. how it would be offtopic or trolling is anyone's guess.
now you can mod me down, sims.
Researcher 1:Man, I'm tired!
... I put up 120 today! Don't my arms look bigger?
.... I'm too tired right now ... mabye later ...
...
... I'm too tired, maybe later ...
...
... I knew it! You can't prove it!
Researcher 2:Been working all day?
Researcher 1:No, I was working out
Researcher 2:120??? No way! Researcher 1:Yes way, dude! And a really hot chick was checking me out while I was doing that, so I have proof!
Researcher 2:Prove it!
Researcher 1:Uhhh
Researcher 2:Yea, just like when you were going to prove that you made superheavy element 118
Researcher 1:Hey! I did do that! I did! I did! I did!
Researcher 2:Prove it! Researcher 1:Uhh
Researcher 2:Dude, you're so full of shit!
Researcher 1:Am not! Are you calling me a liar?
Researcher 2:Then prove it
Researcher 1:You're such a jerk!
Researcher 2:Heh
Researcher 1: *sniffle* I'm moving to a different town! *stomps off crying with hot blonde on his arm*
HallmarkOrnaments.Com
I'm SURE you meant to say:
"we have those who doubt alien abductions and believe in the moon landing."
Although it was an OBVIOUS typo, I thought we should clear it up so as not to confuse anyone...
Life is short: void the warranty.
i think you should just tell people that the link is to the goatsex guy with prime numbers flying out of his anus. it's more interesting than the story here anyway.
michael sucks!
A: We have a constant problem with people who are trying to break our system for no other purpose than they have nothing better to do--like their bosses haven't assigned them enough to do at work today, or that their mom hasn't made them mow the lawn, in most cases!
I think you mean "relentless" or maybe "unrelenting."
debian is dead! debian will ditch Linux kernel and start using The Hurd kernel. cmdrtaco and other such LAMERS use debian - it's a distro for lamers. Avoid it at all cost.
Unfortunately, the editors here do like to editorialize. The responsible thing for them to do would be to simply post the story, then add commentary in the comments so that everybody reading doesn't get the editors skewed views confused with actual fact. But since that will never happen, we should probably either get used to it or move along. And now that I'm done with my rant (properly located in the comment section) I'll take my bitchslap, backed by infinite mod points, and be on my merry way. Thanks Mikey, for the wonderful meta-chat which will burn all of our karma!
do not read this line twice.
I don't understand why the parent post is modded down.
I thought that was Disneyworld.
To clarify, I posted that comment before I realized I was walking into a mod-war. Can you children please mod each other down and leave me out of it ? And I'd like to encourage the annonymous poster to leave more details. You don't have to reveal yourself of course, or post information that could be used to track you down, but with the little you posted I can't even start a good rumour ! Throw me a bone here ! Was the data known bad at time of publication ? Maybe it was discovered bad later and the retraction is just slow in coming out ? Or was is purposely faked ?
Three Words
Michael. Sims. Bitchslap.
Yes because of these TWO examples, the whole body of work from the physics community is a total and complete farce.
Michael, why don't you keep your inane banter to yourself?
Why is that inane banter? I don't think he said that physics was a farce or that the whole community was a farce. But, like recent revelations in the world of economics and finance, why can't we ask the question of whether fraud now constitutes a serious problem in physics research?
Physics is at the core of so many public health and safety issues that even the question of fraud should raise serious concerns. And why shouldn't it? We're talking about science, not religion. If EVERY SINGLE FACET of a science is not open to debate, question and review then the science itself is invalid on its own terms.
In short, he was just suggesting that, where you find smoke, you often find fire.
This same assumption is applied all the time to other areas of research, why not to physics? Our friends at the Skeptical Inquirer, when confronted with a couple of frauds, will not only impune psychics and paranormal researchers as a group of people but, indeed, the ENTIRE AREA OF RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION. And despite the fact that Princeton and other reputable universities have anomalies research labs that can and do produce reliable, repeatable evidence of mind-over-matter and matter-from-mind phenomena.
If we can call paranormal research into question on these grounds, then what does physics have to fear by being questioned?
Surely it can stand a little scrutiny. And, if not, then why not?
The fact that Hubble has given us incredible images never got the press that the original blunder did.
Not to mention the excellent job by engineers on the ground to figure out how to create usable images from the broken telescope.
Rather than screaming at Michael, why don't we all take time to reflect on how unfortunate it is that science fraud makes news while science successes never get more than a brief mention.
... but if Michael had taken the time to reflect on that in the first place, perhaps he wouldn't have written such an ignorant and inflammatory comment. I regret that he feels compelled to add a little zinger to the end of the stories he posts. Whether he's a narcissist or whether he does it just to yank people's chains, I'm strongly tempted to eliminate his stories in my preferences.
Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
why must there always be a some fucking geek who objects to a story so much that they have to insult the original poster? why why why? i hate geeks and their shitty attitudes.
Yes because of these TWO examples, the whole body of work from the physics community is a total and complete farce.
Michael Sims doesn't seem to appreciate that, at Slashdot, it's rather unusual to find only two frauds on the front page.
Geez, not you again.
Can't stand it, can you? It makes your blood boil.
Look, when you make a four-vector (t,x,y,z) there is an IMPLIED factor of c in the time component, otherwise the units are wrong. Your entire argument is predicated on not understanding the system of units commonly used in particle physics.
Implied factor, my foot! The distance traveled in spacetime is indeed given as ct in relativity. ct is measured in meters, not seconds!!! There is indeed an evolution in a fourth spatial dimension. Where is the time travel in that, pray tell? Get a clue!
The press could be more positive in its science coverage, but imagine how a journalist would feel, faced with either explaining Ununoctium and organic semiconductors to Mr. & Mrs. Doe, or reporting on a good old-fashioned scandal. Which would resonate better in a climate recently accustomed to stories about corporate misconduct?
Exit, pursued by a bear.
How many seconds before this gets modded offtopic?
Slashdot editors abusing their moderating powers make this forum so fucking lame.
The example is still a really good one, and your point is also valid. People do know about the cool images just because it has been so long since the whole mirror flaw thing, and so many images have been produced more recently. You also have to look at it and say, which got more press coverage? The flawed mirrors or the images?
Offtopic=1, Flamebait=7, Troll=1, Insightful=6, Interesting=3, Funny=1, Overrated=3, Underrated=2, Total=24
Are there any categories that someone *hasn't* dropped this into?
May we never see th
Ealar mourns for juuri's karma
I live in a giant bucket.
MOD PARENT UP
this text is added to make the lameness filter die asdf adf adsf asdfsaf sadf sadfsda fd saf dsaasdfsadfsda