don@allegra.UUCP (D. Mitchell) (12/22/83)
Quacks can sometimes be harmless and amusing. A nuclear physicist at Caltech once had a strange experience when someone walked into his office and asked if he could explain his "new theory of nuclear energy": TT: "Sure, I have a minute." Quack: "Good, most people just throw me out of their office." TT: "What is your new theory?" Quack: "Well, first of all, protons are flat." TT: "You're right." Quack: "I am?" TT: "Yes, I AM going to throw you out of my office!" Unfortunately, many young people are badly hurt by quacks and silly "pop" philosophers. They are too excited by their first major intellectual conquest to really see it objectively. They do not move on to more advanced ideas or learn to see the many viewpoints in perspective.