Jones Beene <jone...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> But if your read Feynman’s account carefully, and you should - then you > will see that Papp himself unplugged engine and handed the plug to Feynman. > Feynman did not unplug the machine – he merely failed to give back the plug > to Papp. > No, sorry, that is equally unforgivable. Papp was clearly in a panic wanting the power restored. Feynman should have handed it over the plug immediately, whether he thought the machine was real or fake. Actually, real or fake has nothing to do with it. As I said, even a fake machine might be dangerous. For all anyone knows, it might be more dangerous than a real one -- depending on how it works. To change my analogy a little, if the two of them had been flying a dual control biplane at Peachtree Dekalb Airport (PDK), and Papp as pilot had handed over the controls momentarily, Feynman would have to hand back control immediately upon request, and not do anything to interfere with the flight after that. (PDK is where my office is, and they actually do have WWII dual control biplanes here. During the war, students would sometimes freeze up and crash those planes, killing the instructors.) > BUT FEYNMAN WAS UNDER NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO CONTINUE PAPP’S SCAM. > Giving the plug back would not, in any way, make him legally obligated or guilty of anything. - Jed
