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Howdy Vorts,
Man's insatiable quest for achievement and stature can convolute science
and technology already shot with genius and quackery. Taleyarkhan can be likened
to Shakespeare's writing " loved not wisely, but well."
Back in WW2, the GI GMC 6x6 2 1/2 ton truck was credited by Patton as the
single piece of equipment responsible for victory. The GMC 6 cylinder was a
superb engine. A knockoff of the GMC truck was also made by Studebaker
but used a Studebaker 6 cylinder flathead auto engine ( the worse engine ever
built). Most of the Studebaker trucks were shipped to Russia. After the war,
Hungary, under Russian control, built a knockoff of the Studebaker engine. I
later met a Hungarian engineer that had worked in the knockoff engine
plant in Budapest.He couldn't believe the US could produce both the best and the
worse engine at the same time.
I explained .. "that's what we do best". This simple fact escapes the
world. It escaped Kruschev while walking in an Iowa cornfield looking at stalks
above his head. Recently , it escaped a Korean company that built a knockoff of
a gas induction unit made by a US firm now owned by Siemens. The worse and most
expensive unit on the market. We had to laugh when they came to us describing
their " superior technology". See, we build the best and we were looking down
their throat.
Throw rocks at Putterman and Taleyarkhan but at least they
don't build knockoffs.
In the marketplace of ideas, the free thinker can enter without
money.
Richard
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