Count Iblis, I too am very curious about the daily modulation. now THAT would be something that would make me jump on my chair.

I think reality is going to be more prosaic. But I would be quite happy to find out I am wrong…

Cheers,
T.

Yes, I also felt that Collar was over the top in the way he expressed his opinion, and that should make any observer suspicious. No matter how sceptical we may be of Dama’s claims, there is no excuse for an absence of civility and mutual respect. Scientists can be just as territorial as any other human being – and the more territorial you are, the harder it is to cope with scepticism, which is why it should be expressed as dispassionately as possible, so as to encourage the subjects of such criticism to reconsider their methodology in an atmosphere free of personal recrimination.

However, there are situations – and I don’t think this is one of them yet, where a persistent stubborn refusal to engage with one’s peers in an objective search for the truth inevitably leads to conflict – Cold Fusion comes to mind as an example in experimental physics, and String Theory is the obvious example in theoretical physics. Once such fields become heavily politicised by charge and counter-charge the war continues until one side concedes defeat.

The most unfortunate outcome of such conflicts is that genuinely fine physicists and scientists often get caught in the crossfire – I am particularly thinking of Julian Schwinger, whose reputation suffered greatly when he made an honest attempt at investigating the theoretical basis for cold fusion, or James Watson, whose tendency to tell it like he saw it resulted in the recent complete destruction of his career and public thrashing of his reputation.

The lesson is clear. Steer clear of such disputes unless you are highly skilled in the nefarious skills of political combat.

In fact, I had no sympathy whatever for the DAMA people until I read his pompous, self-righteous diatribe. But then, as he tells us, he preaches to his students that they should be their own worst enemies; evidently he practises what he preaches.