- I am not aware of public flogging or burning at the stake playing a large part in academic life in the UK, though in the USA Pastor Jones proposal to burn copies of the Koran springs to mind — not to mention the unfortunate fate of Professor Morissey in Florida in 2012. But then violent attacks on doctors and abortion clinics generally, for instance, are a notable feature of the country you have chosen to live in. (Curious that you are only prepared to accord the title ‘Doctor” to medical doctors — perhaps it makes it easier to identify your candidates for conflagration.)
- You describe Dr David Colquhoun as “a morally depraved man who serves as attack dog to terrorize people and raise mobs [who] can only exist in the U.K. Like an inquisitor, he accuses you of sorcery and now all bets are off. He makes sure nobody reads your papers.” Now I believe you have published a book on statistical matters (the highly regarded “Fooled by randomness”) and are yourself a decent statistician (welcome to the club ?). You may, then, be aware that Dr Colquhoun — who has been a distinguished professor, is a fellow of the Royal Society and a winner of the Humboldt award — is also no slouch when it comes to looking for false positives. But I am surprised that you view his attempts to expose dishonest science as the actions of an “attack dog”. Indeed he did comment on the Hunt affair, though only after the resignation; but his remarks are very measured, and I find it difficult to see the villainy you attribute: http://www.dcscience.net/2015/06/15/are-women-still-at-a-disadvantage-in-science/. It seems to me that if there is an attack dog in this whole business, it must be you. You seem to have deserted not only ordinary courtesy but also academic standards of scrutiny and of reference.
