> Nonsense! Peer review is an accepted and valuable practice for the > validation of scientific, academic and artistic works. For just one > example, this summer peer review exposed the Bancroft Prize winner, Michael > Bellesiles, as a liar and charlatan. > Dave Great example btw ... Actually, in a way it exposes why peer review, in the sense of it being unbiased, is indeed impossible. Would he have won the prize if his findings were not favourable to the liberals? Would Bellesiles have been exposed had his conclusions had not threatened the gun lobby (fabricated or not)? The "Lobbysist" culture is as old as history. When the earth was flat then you had better get ALL your facts straight before you said otherwise. I suspect he was debunked so quickly because his conclusions were too "dangerous" for some to accept rather than out of any quest for absolute truth. When someone looks at the PhotoForum gallery and comments on an image there - it's not objective because objectivity itself is a myth. Does that mean though that comments are worthless or that the act of commenting is a waste of time? I think so, but then I would say that, wouldn't I ;o) Q "A fool asks questions which can have no answer"
