How can I help a friend self-publish an incorrect scientific paper? [closed]
Closed by System†on Jun 9, 2018 at 05:24
This question was closed; new answers can no longer be added. Users with the reopen privilege may vote to reopen this question if it has been improved or closed incorrectly.
I have a friend who for various reasons does not have access to the Internet. We communicate by snail mail.
He has written a paper about a scientific topic. His paper claims that the mainstream view on this topic is incorrect. He also introduces some concepts of his own, which he feels elucidate the mechanisms behind certain known scientific laws.
I disagreed with his conclusions that the mainstream view is incorrect, but I found the concepts he introduced to be genuinely interesting. I enjoyed reading the paper and I think that others might also enjoy it for similar reasons. But I want to stress that the paper is obviously wrong, even to a beginning student of the subject.
My friend wants to publish in some kind of free online scientific journal. I explained to him that I was happy to help him with publication. At the same time, I offered to share my opinions with him about why his paper is wrong in some of its criticisms of the status quo. He wanted to hear my thoughts. So, for a couple of years, my off-and-on letters included attempts to make him understand that the contradiction he had found had actually arisen from his own misinterpretation of the accepted theory.
Finally I realized that my pedagogical efforts weren't producing results. I reflected that nothing is 100% true, particularly in science, and I decided to give it a rest. I thought about how other parts of the paper had inspired me. I remembered my original offer and reiterated it; he said that yes, he still wants to publish.
So now I am wondering where I can send the paper.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/36818. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
0 answers
0 comment threads