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Re: [ATM] Dobson
I have seen John Dobson speak twice and found him to be an entertaining
lecturer. From my observation I would not describe him as a serious
scientist. Here is more interested in explaining his theory of
cosmology and popularizing astronomy. I very much appreciate his work
promoting amateur astronomy.
On the ATM list we have people suggest that "John Dobson" did it this
way. I don't take Mr. Dobson very seriously as an optician--I think
many of the people on this list are more accomplished. John has always
promoted the quick and dirty approach to mirror making. It is amazing
how well a telescope can work with a mirror that is hammered out with a
few hours of work. However, these mirror are not works of art. John
is a great popularizer of amateur astronomy, and for that I respect
him. I don't consider him either a practicing scientist or an
optician.
Scott
On Oct 30, 2004, at 7:41 PM, Mel Bartels wrote:
> Gosh, hate to add to the mix, but half of what's being written about
> John Dobson directly contradicts what he's said to me over the past 25
> years. He's never claimed to have had a substantive role in Manhatten.
> He's expressed a change of moral viewpoint after the project's
> success, as did many scientists who worked directly and indirectly on
> the project.
>
> Why are we holding JD to a different standard than we do ourselves or
> others more intimate? We are all a mixture of beliefs from insightful
> (I started to type inciteful <smile>) to irrational. I admire JD for
> his decades long forceful devotion to bringing the universe to humans
> around the world, including the courageous refusal to be typecast in
> telescope making as opposed to amateur astronomy terms. I think
> there's a bias by many against JD who struggle to accept his feeling
> that the telescope is but a tool to achieve a means, and not the end
> point of admiration.
>
> Mel Bartels
>
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>
>
--
Scott Rychnovsky
ATM Web page:
http://tlepage.home.mindspring.com/
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