Science Blogger Sued for Unfavorable Book Review

tigerhawkvok writes "Recently, new author Stuart Privar provided Professor PZ Meyers of Pharyngula a copy of his book, Lifecode, for review. Over the course of the review itself and a few follow-ups, it became evident that the content was nonsense (including, among other things, ten-legged spiders and other phenomena strongly at odds with developmental biology). However, the common threat of lawsuits finally became a reality, and now Privar is suing Myers for $15 million. Can calling someone a 'classic crackpot' in the face of such incorrect data have any chance at making it to court, or even winning the suit?"

Comments

Re:This is the United States.

[TheLink]

Well an appealing system is better than one with a lack of appeal right?

Extending the Idea

[WED Fan]

You see a common thread in these lawsuits: an individual or group cannot stand criticism of their ideas. Of course, this is nothing new, hence the Inquisition.

So, extending the idea, we should be seeing lawsuits from the following:

• RMS, all Holiness to his Name the Prophet of GPL, because people ridicule him as a commie and whack job
• GPL3 Supporters against Linus
• Linux Fanboys against Ballmer
• Al Gore against:
  • Orson Scott Card for laughing at him
  • Against people who chase down his wild exagerations
  • Against people who accuse him of being an energy hog

Re:When Wealthy Christians and Crackpots Attack!

[Notquitecajun]

You just described most of the Popes.

Re:I'm waiting for

[Sunburnt]

Once you go pro you get in government and censer your opposition. case in point the censorship of dissenting opinions about global warming

Right, 'cause that's exactly what happens.

Oh, wait, you're just plain fucking wrong.

Thanks for playing, though. Now you can go back to pretending that the ideas of pop novelists and oil-company funded thinktanks somehow represent reality.

Re:The reviewer blogger should lose his home. libe

[B_SharpC]

The basis of the suit are prior posts where the pseudo scientist calls Pivar a crackpot.
 
  Science gets a bad rap by pseudo scientists who use slander in place of reason. Scientific American should be ashamed. If an area knowlege is true science, then there is no disagreement. No need for consensus and no need for name calling.