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[Phys-L] Personal Attacks (was Re: Problem Based Learning)



In his Phys-L post of 3 Aug 2005 titled "Re: Problem Based Learning .
. . ." Jack Uretsky wrote [bracketed by lines "UUUUUUUUUU. . . .":

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Hi all- I am interested in personal attacks. Dick Hake writes:

"Rather than litter the lists with vacuous personal attacks, please
take a few milliseconds to hit "DELETE" now if you (a) have no
interest in the present subject, or (b) dislike long posts such as
this one (13 KB), or (c) accept the anti-cross-posting advice of the
anonymous universal expert "Ask Anon" at
<http://www.advicemeant.com/netiquet/usenet.shtml#Cross>, or (d) have
any other reason whatsoever."

Dick, how do you feel about (pointed - i.e., non-vacuous) personal
attacks? Is there not a place for these in reasoned discourse?

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

There's nothing I relish more in reasoned discourse than
*substantive* personal attacks. They usually mean that I may be right
after all.

Unfortunately, the unreasoned attacks that have been posted on the
AERA-C list are totally devoid of meaningful personal criticism, as
may be verified by a visit to the AERA-C archives at
<http://lists.asu.edu/archives/aera-c.html>.


Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>

"Ah! Don't say you agree with me. When people agree with me
I always feel that I must be wrong."
Oscar Wilde