[meteorite-list] Darryl's edited NYT letter

From: Matson, Robert D. <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:40:15 -0700
Message-ID: <9180F6B27399C541B10663E21C8BDE92018FA6F5_at_0461-its-exmb09.us.saic.com>

Hi All,

The main problem with the Times' editing of Darryl's submission is that
they altered his factually correct letter into an inaccurate (or at
best,
misleading) one. The following sentences appeared in the Times' edited
version:

"As a result of the harvesting done by Bedouins, Berbers and others, 32
specimens from Mars and 43 specimens from the Moon have been discovered
in the deserts since the mid-1990s. The number of such specimens
recovered by scientists beforehand? Not one. Since the mid-1990s?
Just four."

Now compare this with what Darryl actually submitted:

" ... as a result of the harvesting done by Bedouins, Berbers and
others,
32 istinct specimens of Mars and 43 distinct specimens of the Moon, as
well as other exotic samples, have been discovered in the hot deserts
since the mid-1990s---all of which have undergone study. Conversely, not
one such specimen was recovered by scientists IN THESE REGIONS [emphasis
mine] before this time, and since then scientists have recovered only
four such specimens."

This significant error of omission invites researchers "in-the-know" to
accuse Darryl of being uninformed, and by inference unfairly calling
into question his credentials for opining on the subject. This is the
problem with journalists uneducated in scientific disciplines -- they
don't appreciate the nuances introduced by the seemingly harmless
removal of a word here, or a short phrase there. The sciences are not
like prose: every word is usually there for a reason.

--Rob
Received on Tue 12 Apr 2011 03:40:15 PM PDT