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Re: Atawallpa was no chicken (An Apology to Richard)



peter -

you and the other professional archaeologists / anthropologists owe 
the rest of us no apology. it is to you that people like me come to 
listen. however, although i understand your concern to "shelter" us 
from some of the more bizarre rantings that get posted here, you 
probably don't need to do so - most of us can read intelligently and 
selectively (i have a ph.d of my own - in theoretical physics, not 
archaeology - so i am aware of what constitutes valid research). paul 
pettenude's appeal a few weeks ago that everybody should just ignore 
yuri completely was the correct approach i think.

of all yuri's paranoias the one that i find most laughable is his 
idea that the academic community is engaged in a conspiracy to 
"suppress the evidence". he clearly has no experience of academic 
research - if he did he would know that the absolute opposite is the 
case: the epoch-making, nobel prize-winning scientific discovery is 
what every researcher dreams of... it ensures him fame and status for 
life! the very thought that one might be the person to turn accepted 
orthodoxy on its head is enough to make any scientist weak at the 
knees. unfortunately very few (newton, darwin, einstein... ) are so 
lucky.

what yuri fails to appreciate is that it is "enlightened scepticism" 
which fosters the best environment for research - it ensures that 
evidence is sifted with care and diligence, and requires that a truly 
convincing case be made before the scientific community accepts the 
revised version. such is the scientific method. it may sometimes be 
slow, but it works.

richard

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