OrionWorks - Steven Vincent Johnson <orionwo...@charter.net> wrote:
> > He knew he would be vilified and ridiculed for the rest of his life. > > He went into it knowing what would happen. That was an act of courage. > > But as he said, it was nothing like running for you life at age 13. > > > > Mind you, it gets his goat. Sheila Fleischmann told me he complains for > > hours. Who wouldn't? > > This is one of the most revealing things I've read about Fleishman in a > very > long time. > He sure knew what he was getting into. Fleischmann wrote a lighthearted account of this, quoted in Beaudette's book. It starts off with Arrhenius in 1883. He was one of the most important electrochemists in history, like Faraday. He made a revolutionary discovery. As any student of history would predict, this led the academic authorities to kick him out of the university. He was vilified and ridiculed for years and years. Finally, long after, he won a Nobel prize. That happens so often I am astounded anyone believes the myth that scientists welcome new ideas. ANYWAY, flash forward to 1989. Arrhenius' granddaughter, Dr. Karen Caldwell, was director of the Center for Biopolymers at Interfaces at the University of Utah, and a friend of F&P. Quoting Beaudette, p. 149, Fleischmann recounted: After the press conference, Dr. Caldwell came up to us and said, "Well, when my grandfather proposed electrolytic disassociation, he was dismissed from the University. At least that won’t happen to you." I said to her, “But you are entirely mistaken. We shall be dismissed as well." - Jed
