From: Jed Rothwell <72240.1256@compuserve.com>
Subject: My opinions and data are my own
Reply-To: Jed Rothwell <72240.1256@compuserve.com>
Organization: Sci.physics.fusion/Mail Gateway
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 05:19:08 GMT

To: >INTERNET:fusion@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG

A slightly miffed, slight upset correspondent asked me 'if that was an open
demo, where is Notoya's data? Why haven't you uploaded it?' (Those are not the
exact words.)

I did upload it. I wrote a message describing what I saw, and uploaded it. It
wasn't much of a message, I will grant, but I did not see much, either. During
Notoya's demo, it was pretty crowded in the lab, and I was in the way, so I
did not observe for long. I went to the library, and let the real scientists
watch. It is a shame they could not do it in a larger space, I gather the
reason had to do with hydrogen gas, but I don't know the details. I mentioned
that during the second run, they got 70% excess. That news came to me from
Notoya-san during a three minute telephone conversation. She was busy, and I
did not bother her for details. I was down here in sunny Atlanta, and she was
up in the North Pole (a.k.a. Cambridge, MA.)

I have said this before, but let me repeat: I am not affiliated with MIT or
with MITI; I am not Reiko Notoya; I am not in charge of things; I did not
invite people; I don't know who was there. Other people were there, and
perhaps they will upload their observations and data in the fullness of time.
That is up to them. I never upload other people's data. From time to time, I
upload Lecture Notices and Announcements that come in the mail. If the lecture
is at MIT, that means MIT makes arrangements, and invites people, not me. I
upload notes and comments from people like Yamaguchi, for example, when Steve
Jones asks about the heat, or someone else asks about the glass, I fax
comments to Yamaguchi, or ask him during a conversation. That makes me a
translator, an informal intermediary, a helpful kinda guy, not an official
spokesman for NTT! Let's keep that in mind, please.

If you want data, if you want the straight dope, don't come to me, ask the
researcher who did the work. If you REALLY want data, for goodness sake do the
experiment yourself.

Tom Droege says he has been getting a lot of "wonderfully diverse"
contradictory information: "Use commercial glass cleaner some say (contains
chromic acid), others say DON'T USE CHROMIC ACID!"

That is exactly what happens to me when I talk to CF workers. One person says
do it this way, another says that's wrong, do just the opposite. Let me point
out though, the very same thing happens when I go to two different doctors
with some strange malady. One says it is serious, the other says ignore it.
Also, in the software biz, some say OOP is great, some say it stinks. It is
true in every profession and line of work. The best advice I can offer to Tom
is:

     Do not pay much attention to people (like me) who have not successfully
     run the experiment. If you want the straight dope, go right to the
     sources. People who have not actually generated excess heat are just
     talkin' all out their heads, as Jimmy Yancey used to say.

- Jed


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From: rauchfuss@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Brian Rauchfuss)
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 17:53:43 GMT
Subject: Re: the development of a multidimensional argument
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA