Re: [Phys-l] Writing a review or lab report

[chuck britton <cvbritton@mac.com>]

During the '70's, a condensed matter theorist by the name of 
Hetherington submitted a paper to PhysRev which he had written in the 
first person plural. It was kicked back by the referees as 
inappropriate - since he was the sole author. Rather than rewriting 
the paper - he added a second author F. D. C. Wilard, who was in fact 
his cat Felis Domesticus Cattus Willard.

I believe that F.D.C. Willard was asked to deliver a paper at a Paris 
conference.

This inspired our family to avoid the added expense on an unlisted 
telephone number (when such became an unfortunate necessity) by 
having it listed under Canis Familiaris Slingshot.
.
At 11:14 AM -0500 5/2/11, David Marx wrote:
> My preference is to have students write in passive voice only.  In 
> science, it is not the particular
> researchers that are important so much as what was done, how it was 
> done, what was observed, etc.  I
> also have them use past tense in describing the above.  The 
> exception is when something is presently
> true or always true.  For example, "2 plus 2 equals 4" would not be 
> written "2 plus 2 equaled 4."