jshaw@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (James and Colleen) (03/05/91)
About four months ago I heard a short piece on NPR about Scientific American firing Forrest Mimms. I hadn't heard any more about it until (fortunately) my new issue of Harper's (March 1991) came. It published a telephone conversation with Mimms and the editor of SA. Mimms was fired because he didn't believe in evolution and was a creationist. For those of you who do not read SA, Mimms' articles have nothing to do with biology and the issue of evolution or creationism never come up. He was fired strickly for his religious beliefs (he is a christian) not for any articles that he wrote. He was in fact complemented by the editor for his work. Mimms wrote the Ametuer Scientist articles in SA. He has also written a number of electronics books, as well as writing many columns for electronics magazines including Modern Electronics. For the record, I am an atheist and I don't agree with Forrest Mimms' religious views, but I am also a scientist and agree with Scientific American even less. I have a number of questions for everyone out there: A. Is everyone as offended by this very unscientific, and fundamentally marketing, decision of SA? Is there anyone out there who can defend SA's decision? B. What can I do about it. I could cancel my subscription to SA, but I do happen to like the other articles in it. I could write them a letter, but I doubt they will publish it on their letters page. (They have made no mention of their dropping of Mimms in their magazine). I could also write to companies advertising in their magazine. I'm not sure how effective this is. Any suggestions on this will help. C. Are there other occurances of censorship like this from major and/or scientific publications? (recent or landmark, please) D. Does anyone know the current status of Mimms. I had heard the ACLU was thinking of taking up the case, but I don't know that he wanted to bother. I hope he sues them; he deserves recompensation and SA deserves the bad publicity (Sorry, off my soapbox now...). I would urge anyone following this thread to find the current issue of Harper's at their library (or if you must sneak a peek at the bookstore). It is a short 1-2 page article. It starts on page 28. Thank you, James Shaw P.s. I was not sure which groups to post to. If there are any more that you feel should be included, please add them to your reply.
pauls@tellabs.com (Paul Silver) (03/06/91)
Scientific American fired Forrest Mimms because having someone who believed in creationism as a member of their staff would cause the magazine to lose its reputation. I can see where this would be true. Would you read a book on, say, quantum mechanics, which contained contributions from the witch doctor of some Amazonian Indian tribe? Probably not. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- / Paul Silver / Dischord Records / / pauls@tellabs.com / putting the D.C. in harDCore / -------------------------------------------------------------------- All opinions expressed are strictly my own, unless I stole them.
frank@grep.co.uk (Frank Wales) (03/08/91)
In article <5472@tellab5.tellabs.com> pauls@tellabs.com (Paul Silver) writes: >Scientific American fired Forrest Mimms because having someone who >believed in creationism as a member of their staff would cause the >magazine to lose its reputation. Quite the contrary, IMHO. >I can see where this would be true. >Would you read a book on, say, quantum mechanics, which contained >contributions from the witch doctor of some Amazonian Indian tribe? >Probably not. Speak for yourself; that way lies closed-mindedness. Ideas shouldn't be judged according to their creators; many of the greatest contributors to science were also religious, but that doesn't mean that we disregard their work; the science is not the scientist. We should be sceptical, but not pre-judgemental. Any publication with the word "scientific" in its name should appreciate and uphold this ideal. -- Frank Wales, Grep Limited, [frank@grep.co.uk<->uunet!grep!frank] Kirkfields Business Centre, Kirk Lane, LEEDS, UK, LS19 7LX. (+44) 532 500303
lamb@brahms.udel.edu (Richard E Lamb) (03/09/91)
If I remember right, Dr. Einstein was a very religious man. Does that make relativity suspect? I guess it does to some.... All this babble... The (proposed) final word: Religion makes a lousy science, and Science makes a lousy religion. RL