Sentence:  Neither [Jones]... nor I (in 1966) could conceive of reducing our "science" to the ultimate <WSD>absurdity</WSD> of reading Finnish newspapers almost a century and a half old in order to establish "priority." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The quality of being absurd or inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment. (First attested in the early 16th century.)<ref name=SOED/>