Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!rutgers!nike!ucbcad!ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdcc6!calmasd!dko
From: dko@calmasd.CALMA.UUCP (Dan O'Neill)
Newsgroups: sci.math
Subject: Re: military funding in mathematics
Message-ID: <2097@calmasd.CALMA.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Oct-86 20:34:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: calmasd.2097
Posted: Thu Oct 23 20:34:46 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Oct-86 07:12:04 EDT
References: <2055@princeton.UUCP> <9600044@uiucdcsp> <49@cartan.Berkeley.EDU>
Reply-To: dko@calmasd.UUCP (Dan O'Neill)
Organization: GE Calma Mechanical Applications, San Diego R&D
Lines: 66

Newsgroups: sci.misc,talk.politics.misc
Subject: Re: military funding in mathematics
Summary: 
Expires: 
References: <2055@princeton.UUCP> <9600044@uiucdcsp> <48@cartan.Berkeley.EDU>
Sender: 
Reply-To: dko@calmasd.UUCP (Dan O'Neill)
Followup-To: 
Distribution: 
Organization: GE Calma R&D, San Diego
Keywords: 

		------ Article from Weemba -----
In article <48@cartan.Berkeley.EDU> weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Matthew P Wiener) writes:
>Wow.  I am impressed.  I thought in the past year that I have seen it all.
>And done a goodly chunk of it.  And now some ignorant dweeb from Illinois
>flames William Thurston.  Of all the people in the world.  Wow wow wow.
>
>	In article <9600044@uiucdcsp> some dweeb from U Illinois says:
>	Why, pray tell, is this trend so "unhealthy and dangerous" for math
>	and society.  It really irritates me when people make such outrageous
>	and unsubstantiated claims.  The least you could do is provide *some*
>	thread of evidence - if such exists.
>
>He did.  He offered to e-mail anyone a copy of his forthcoming paper
>on the subject.  Did you take him up on the offer?  Uh, duhuh.
		------ End of Weemba posting ------

I would hardly call the poster from Illinois ignorant.  He precisely
pointed out that the original article did not, in itself, justify the
opinion presented.

		----- Original article ----
	From: wpt@princeton.UUCP (William Thurston)
	Subject: military funding in mathematics
	Organization: CS Department, Princeton University

	There has been a rapid increase in military funding in mathematics
     *  recently.  Many mathematicians are disturbed by this trend,
     *  as unhealthy for the discipline and unhealthy and dangerous
     *  for society at large.  A group of us is seeking ways to reverse
	this trend.  I've written an article on the subject, which will
	probably appear in the January Notices of the AMS.  There will also
	be a panel discussion (in which I am involved) at the joint 
	meeting of the AMS-MAA in San Antonio.  Resolutions will be put
	forward on the floor concerning SDI (star wars) and military 
	in general.  I would like to hear from people with information
	related to military funding.  I will be happy to surface-mail a copy
	of my article to anyone who sends an address; if you are interested
	in distributing copies locally, I will e-mail the TeX source.
		------ End of original article ---

Yes, Mr. Thurston will send a copy of his paper to interested parties, but
does the rest of the posting justify his opinion? The paper Mr. Thurston
has written most likely contains the nessesary justifications, but his
usenet posting most certainly does not.

Don't read this as a yea or nay vote on the subject, I just don't see why Mr.
Wiener (weemba@brahms) attempts to flay each and every poster with whom he
disagrees.  Post your opinions, I'll read them, but don't post articles meant
to demean the person on the other end.  This serves no useful purpose and
simply detracts from the discussion at hand.
-- 
Dan O'Neill		uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|ucbvax}!sdcsvax!calmasd!dko
(619) 587-3112		arpa: "calmasd!dko"@ucsd.arpa
"Say, isn't that one of those new two-way diodes?" - db