Kicking the Sacred Cow

Scientists are Only Human
—and Not Immune to Dogma.

A New York Times Bestselling Writer Examines the Facts in the Most Profound Controversies in Modern Science.

Galileo may have been forced to deny that the Earth moves around the Sun; but in the end, science triumphed. Nowadays science fearlessly pursues truth, shining the pure light of reason on the mysteries of the universe. Or does it? As bestselling author James P. Hogan demonstrates in this fact-filled and thoroughly documented study, science has its own roster of hidebound pronouncements which are Not to be Questioned. Among the dogma-laden subjects he examines are Darwinism, global warming, the big bang, problems with relativity, radon and radiation, holes in the ozone layer, the cause of AIDS, and the controversy over Velikovsky. Hogan explains the basics of each controversy with his clear, informative style, in a book that will be fascinating for anyone with an interest in the frontiers of modern science.

Praise for James P. Hogan's science fact and fiction:

"[Mind Matters is] carefully organized to carry the reader from the earliest attempts to understand mind to current technologies designed to model logical thought . . . this book is comprehensive, timely, and accessible."
—Publishers Weekly

"[In Mind Matters, Hogan] looks at the real-world progress and prospects of AI. Combining strong hard-science credentials with a willingness to defy received scientific opinion, he has written one of the more interesting in the recent flurry of books on this developing field."
 —Asimov's

"[Bug Park is] on the cutting edge of technology. . . Hogan's talent carries the reader from peak to peak in the story, while his knowledge of science . . . constitutes a splendid backdrop for the nonstop action."
 —Booklist

"[In Paths to Otherwhere,] Hogan brings his cutting edge scientific approach . . . truly fascinating and hugely enjoyable."
—Starlog

Cover art by Allan Pollack

Hardcover

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, August 2004

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 0-7434-8828-8

Copyright 2004 by James P. Hogan

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com

Production by Windhaven Press
Auburn, NH

Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com

DEDICATION

— To Halton Arp, Peter Duesberg . . .

And all other scientists of integrity who followed where the evidence pointed, and stood by their convictions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The help and advice of the following people is gratefully acknowledged—for generously giving their time in describing their work and answering questions; providing invaluable material without which the book would not have been possible; giving more of their time to reading, criticizing, and offering suggestions; and in some cases for the plain, simple moral support of wanting to see it finished. A few words at the front never seems enough to repay this kind of cooperation.

John Ackerman, Firmament & Chaos, Philadelphia, PE; Halton Arp, Max-Planck Institut für Astrophysik, Germany; Andre Assis, Universidade Estadual del Campinas-Unicamp, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Petr Beckmann, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder; Michael J. Bennett;Tom Bethell, Hoover Institute, Palo Alto, CA, and American Spectator, Washington, D.C.; Anthony Brink, South African Bar, Pietermaritzburg, S.A.; Candace Crandall, Science & Environmental Policy Project, Arlington, VA; David Crowe, Reappraising AIDS Society, Alberta, Canada; Peter Duesberg, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley; Fintan Dunne, AIDS Watch, Dublin, Ireland; Hugh, Ellsaesser, visiting scientist, Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, Livermore, CA; Scott Fields; Charles Ginenthal, The Velikovskian, Queens, NY; Tim Gleason, Unionville, CT; Larry Gould, Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs; Tina Grant, Venice, CA; Lewis Greenberg, Kronos, Deerfield Beach, FL; Sherryl Guffrey, Tulsa, OK; Ron Hatch, GPS Consultant, Wilmington, CA; Howard Hayden, Professor Emeritus of Physics, University of Connecticut, Storrs; Marjorie Hecht, 21^st Century Science Associates, Leesburg, VA; Alex Hogan; Jackie Hogan; Joe Hogan; Mike Hogan; Bob Holznecht, Auto Air, Coco Beach, FL; Kent Hovind, Pensacola, FL; Les Johnson, NASA, Marshall Spaceflight Center, Huntsville, AL; Phillip Johnson, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley; Jeff Kooistra, Champagne, IL; Eric Lerner, Princeton, NJ; Robert Lightfoot, Chattanooga, Anthony Liversidge, New York, NY; TN; Scott Lockwood, Lubbock, TX; Christine Maggiore, Alive & Well, Venice, CA; George Marklin, Houston, TX; Paul Marmet, University of Ottawa, Canada; Mike Miller, Quackgrass Press; Bill Nichols, Seattle, WA; Mike Oliver, Carson City, NV; Henry Palka, Farmington, CT; Robert Pease, Professor Emeritus of Physical Climatology at the University of California, Riverside; Peter Perakos; Thomas E. Phipps Jr., Urbana, IL; C.J. Ransom, Colleyville, TX; Lynn E. Rose, Solana Beach, CA; Peter Saint-Andre, Monadnock; S. Fred Singer, SEPP, Arlington, VA; Michael Sisson, Tampa, FL; Patrick Small; Toren Smith, Studio Proteus, San Francisco, CA; E.D. Trimm, Covington, GA; Valendar Turner, Royal Perth Hospital, Australia; Ruyong Wang, St. Cloud State University, MN; Brent Warner, NASA, Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt, MD; Jonathan Wells, Olympia, WA; Eleanor Wood, Spectrum Literary Agency, New York, NY.