John's statement about commenting on
the idea rather than the person or group
is the time-honored rule I usually follow,
but I screwed up, and I apologize.
I could have said:
(1) Adding molecular weights from the
periodic table is correct.
I did say (in my second post):
(2) It is not a gross oversimplification.
(3) This is not a dumb idea.
I did say (in my original post):
(4) ...chemists are not that dumb.
Option 4 is clearly out of line.
Option 1 is okay, but alone does not fit
the context in which it seemed to be
questioned as to whether this method
might be incorrect, or a major
simplification.
If I could have a "do-over" I would
use statement (2) followed by statement (1).
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu