Armchair archaeology: Malcolm's Razor

[Malcolm McKay]

   There seems to be a lot of sarcasm by some of our members to a member that does not seem to have enough enthusiasm in our Niku hypnosis. Wordings in his posts are reworded by some, attacks are many times personal, not professional, and some members seem to go to great lengths to make him, or his ideas look bad. This is not the professionalism that we Tighar members have used in the past. We certainly can disagree, but we should be able to do so in an honorable way.
   Although interesting, I do not like the New Britain theory near as well as I do our Niku theory ( with some mods ). But in the past such ideas were allowed without personal attacks.
   I am not as smart as most of the TIGHAR members, and I don't have the education or the experience  that most of you do, but I have learned much, much more from people who disagreed with me, than I have from those people who have always agreed with me.
   As Rodney said, " can't we all just get along ?".

Thanks John - it is important with any hypothesis of this nature, which seems to draw some quite emotional reactions, to look at all the data offered as calmly and dispassionately as necessary. It isn't some sporting event nor is it some wonderful example of scientific research that will lead to a Nobel Prize - it is simply the examination of a rather minor historical puzzle. If the Nikumaroro hypothesis is proven to be the answer then I will, like others, congratulate TIGHAR. If it isn't then all one can say is nice try - in the end the success or failure of this, given the real problems faced by billions of people every day just to get enough to eat, is pretty trivial.     

[Adam Marsland]

the thing with Malcolm is, he is in on all scenarios

in which, in the event of one being proven right, he is sort of seen in the spotlight

here is a link to one of the scenarios http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1878388#post1878388

on the link he is seen as defending and sticking up for Tighar in a way

yet another of his post's claim's Tighar is stupid because of the stupidity of the Rov Topic in which he questions my ability to match coral to airplane parts because i know nothing about planes

we'll see who is stupid ye


here is link to start of discussion  http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=115646

You know, Richie, you really are a very interesting guy.  This is a very astute post.

[Malcolm McKay]

the thing with Malcolm is, he is in on all scenarios

in which, in the event of one being proven right, he is sort of seen in the spotlight

read.php?t=115646

Good grief now there is a leap into the deep end of the silliness pool. I offer a rough overview of what I think (notice the first person singular pronoun "I") to be the four main hypotheses floating around at the moment (there are probably some I missed) and you accuse me of supporting each one so that when one is proved correct I can leap up and claim that I knew it all along. Frankly I'd stick to imagining aircraft parts in every coral lump if I was you - you certainly have problems with normal discourse.     

[Chris Johnson]

What does Dr M think about the Green Bay Packers?

Their my adopted American Football Team  ;D

What in heaven's name (that is if there is such a place) is a Green Bay Packer?

Yes there is such a place, see above glow  :)

BTW The game is like Rugby but not as good (IMO)

[richie conroy]

yet another of his post's claim's Tighar is stupid because of the stupidity of the Rov Topic in which he questions my ability to match coral to airplane parts because i know nothing about planes

It is you yourself who admitted in that thread that you knew nothing about aircraft. I would have thought that some idea of what an aeroplane part looks like might be a good starting point before I claimed to be able to see bits of them in coral debris. But hell, that's just me.   ;D

i know my way around car and bike engines and mechanic's in general not a problem, however i don't know the in's and out's of the internal workings of planes or parts used to build one, but i have enough images of Earhart Electra to be able to see comparisons in objects in Rov video, to photographs online however far fetched they seem

like it or not.



 

[Malcolm McKay]

... to see comparisons in objects in Rov video, to photographs online however far fetched they seem

like it or not.

Yep .........   ;)

[Malcolm McKay]

They don't do you any credit.

You could also say that the whole thread doesn't do the person who originated it any credit which despite the name on the lead post post was actually one of our moderators. But then who am I to dispute what a moderator may do or not do - it is only we mere mortals who are supposed to behave ethically. And throughout I have behaved with admirable restraint - at least someone has to.

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

I see I will have to get one of these 'theoretical armchairs'
All of the work I do is done from a well worn leather swivel chair and worn out desk surrounded by book cases and computers. An armchair? Oh how the other half live.

[C.W. Herndon]

Looks like my office.

[Malcolm McKay]

Malcolm,
We clearly disagree on the meaning of 'admirable restraint' unless we're talking about navy personnel. 

A is unkind
A claims C is unkind
A's unkindness is justified.
A is therefore unkind.

Which kind of scientific approach is this again?

I do think you may have proved a point.  And I am in awe of the fact that it may be the first time said thing has happened.  It shows that in any inquiry, it is essential to keep an open mind, remain unbiased, and evaluate all the data objectively. Otherwise, you may miss valuable input.  This is an important lesson to all of us, and one I am grateful for.

Leon, I'm one of the very few contributors to this forum who is a real live archaeologist. Believe me you don't do that from an armchair - well certainly not the digs I've been on. So perhaps you might like to reconsider your remarks, or perhaps enlighten us about how you conducted yourself on the digs you've been on and how you evaluated the material found.

[john a delsing]

Gary LaPook or Dr.McKay,
    Can either of you explain to me why some on the forum do not believe that occams razor applies to Tighar ?
    Is there some organization (s) that a group can write to to request a waiver ?

[Malcolm McKay]

Gary LaPook or Dr.McKay,
    Can either of you explain to me why some on the forum do not believe that occams razor applies to Tighar ?
    Is there some organization (s) that a group can write to to request a waiver ?

Why? Don't know really - perhaps because it is all too easy not to apply Occam's Razor if one is spinning a good story based on what one would like to believe happened.

[richie conroy]

maybe if u look through Tighars archives every question asked as been answered in 1 way or another over last 22 years

unfortunate for people like me an you we just get the blunt replys because

A) if we read through all the documents Tighar has made availible to public we would get an answer without haveing to ask questions..

B) can we prove to next person that somethink is true based on what we say, answer  NO

C) who is the worst person to believe ? based on there available evidence an data ?

[Malcolm McKay]

maybe if u look through Tighars archives every question asked as been answered in 1 way or another over last 22 years

unfortunate for people like me an you we just get the blunt replys because

A) if we read through all the documents Tighar has made availible to public we would get an answer without haveing to ask questions..

B) can we prove to next person that somethink is true based on what we say, answer  NO

C) who is the worst person to believe ? based on there available evidence an data ?

Answered yes, satisfactorily no.

The only evidence for the Nikumaroro hypothesis that counts is that which is incontrovertible, so far that has not been found as none of the meager number of artifacts offered can be shown to have sole Earhart or Noonan provenance. The wreck of Earhart's Electra would be. What happens if they don't find it? 

[richie conroy]

It is meager when u consider there is a plane to be found

what if wreckage is found and is the electra on reef face,  but it is so badly rusted it can't be identified to belong to either the Electra or Norwich city ?

then them meager objects become best evidence of were electra ended it's flying days