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Re: sustainability




On Wed, 15 Oct 1997 20:28:36 -0500 brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
writes:
Folks,
after reading of Professor Simon's million/billion year forecasts
of resource sustainability for human life on Earth, I wrote
asking him if this still represented his view.
I also enquired about his educational background.

He notes he was not trained in
economics nor in demographics, but points out his web
thumbnail vita:

http://www.bmgt.umd.edu/~jsimon/

which starts with a Harvard ug degree in psychology; proceeds
through Naval officer and EncBrit sales jobs to graduate school...

A contributor to this list suggests you too may be interested in
corresponding with him. His email address is

Julian_L_SIMON@umail.umd.edu (js65)

or

Professor Simon <js65@umail.umd.edu>


Sincerely,
brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>
Altus OK

Hi Brian, I refuted an article of his once, but before sending him a
copy I called him for a phone interview. At one point, I said something
like (maybe worse), "Oh, I see where you made your mistake." He went
ballistic. A few days later I got a letter that looked like it had been
scrawled by a psychopath or an extremely superannuated person. "I regret
the day I ever met you." it commenced, "I hope you suffer for ...." I
still have the letter, but it's not worth looking at. I used sentential
calculus to prove that he said what I wished to refute, then I used
algebra and some U.N. demographic tables to disprove his statement
absolutely. Nevertheless, a supporter of Simon refused to admit that
my argument was irrefragable. This shows that reason will not win the
day. I sure as hell hate to say this, but I believe many people are
influenced by fear for their lives, i.e., violence or certain violence to
come, which means some must have already occurred, and fear for their
lives only. Most of the reasonable folks already see the world just as I
do - or, at least, when they finish reading my book, they will, Deo
volente.
In my book he appears under a heading "People with Hidden Agendas".
By the way, apparently he quotes me in his latest book because one of his
other critics took the opposite view from my own. I guess he reasons
that, if not everyone agrees, we are all wrong. My wife found it with
her search engine.

Regards / Tom