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From: gwyn@brl-tgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn <gwyn>)
Newsgroups: net.physics,net.research,net.misc
Subject: Re: Re: Velikovsky, Einstein and peers
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Date: Mon, 25-Nov-85 09:58:53 EST
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Posted: Mon Nov 25 09:58:53 1985
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Hey, Alan, the idea was NOT to help cranks get published,
but rather to help worthwhile ideas that are too far off
the beaten track to get sympathetic review from "peers".
There IS a difference.  The yellow issues of Il Nuovo
Cimento used to carry a substantial amount of the latter,
articles which Phys. Rev. D would not touch.  I found
several of them very good, while others were silly.  But
no sillier than what Phys. Rev. D routinely publishes!

I think the main difference between crank literature and
off-beat literature is that the crank is ignorant whereas
the purveyor of off-beat ideas understands the "accepted"
point of view but disagrees with it.