ArticleIP_3836.txt

   
   
      
         
            

            
               The
Hinducentric View of the World
            

            "Mars
to Humanity: Get Over Yourself" by Nathan Myhrvold was interesting to read,
but I suggest the author did not complete his homework. Aryabhatt, a Hindu
astronomer and mathematician, pointed out before Copernicus did that the solar
system is heliocentric, not geocentric.

            -- Debjyoti
Das

            
               Earth to
Myhrvold
            

            Nathan Myhrvold needs to
reread his scientific history ("Mars
to Humanity: Get Over Yourself"). How can he seriously think of discussing
the conflict between humanity's pretensions and scientific progress (especially
in the field of biology) and not make a single mention of Charles Darwin's
Theory of Evolution?

            Myhrvold also indulges in
absurd generalizations about the scientific community. His contention that
"mainstream opinion in biology--until last week--orbited around the essential
mystery of life on Earth just as surely as the Ptolemaic view was lodged in the
firmament" is simply not true. Has he ever heard of the Miller Experiment,
which demonstrates how easily and quickly organic molecules (including amino
acids) could have been synthesized in the tumultuous environment of a newly
formed Earth? As for the lack of scientific speculation about forms of alien
life, why is it the result of a "taboo"? Could it be that the general
scientific community finds such speculation ultimately pointless in the absence
of real data? Nature has done a wonderful job of confounding "speculation" on
forms of life so far; Myhrvold is, in effect, taking scientists to task for not
letting their imaginations run riot.

            
Scientific thought is hardly the rigid and dogmatic collection of prejudice
that this article implies. It is certainly true that "research over the past 20
years has changed the scientific view of life." But research over the 120 years
before that has changed the view of life as well (and arguably in a more
radical fashion!). Research over the next 20 years undoubtedly will bring
further changes to "the scientific view of life" (whatever that may mean).
Myhrvold may not realize it, but he is simply restating what "mainstream
opinion in biology" has believed for quite some time now.

            --Tom
Cleaveland

            
               The 40
Percent Question
            

            Jodie T.
Allen's article titled "The Biggest Tax Increase in History" repeats, without
challenging, Susan Molinari's claim that government takes in 40 percent of the
GDP in taxes. According to Commerce Department data in the "1996 Economic
Report of the President," total federal, state, and local revenues amounted to
just 31.5 percent of the GDP in calendar year 1994. Who knows where the 40
percent figure came from? One common mistake is to count federal grants-in-aid
as state and local taxes, but that's double counting, since they're already
paid for by federal taxes. Even that mistake wouldn't get you to 40
percent.

            --Jon
Bakija

            
               Color Me
Gray
            

            Harry
Shearer refers to Mike Deavers as the éminence 
               cerise of the
convention "Diary." As a registered pedant, I cannot refrain from posing this
political trivia question: Who was the original éminence 
               grise on
whom Shearer's word play is based? If this is too easy, consider this bonus
question: Who was the éminence 
               rouge ? Hint: Ralph Reed, mutatis
mutandis, would be a natural candidate for the title of "éminence
blanche ."

            --Glen
Tomkins

            

               Bootleg
            

            Since Kemp is an old
quarterback, I would liken the grip the "new" Republican thought has on reality
to the football feeling here in Alabama during Alabama/Auburn game time. It's
the "let's throw out the records because this is a different game" mentality
("The
Supply-Side Virus Strikes Again," by Paul Krugman). While that may be fine
for football, it sure is a bizarre way to run a country. The record does count
when it comes to jobs, taxes, and feeding your family.

            In
college, the players use up their eligibility. It seems the supply-side virus
allows the same players to keep playing year after year, never forcing them to
graduate.

            --Al
Pennington

            
               Supply
Snide
            

            I'm surprised that any time
defenders of supply-side economics refer to the Reagan administration for
support, commentators don't mention the exponential growth of the budget
deficit during those years ("The
Supply-Side Virus Strikes Again," by Paul Krugman).

            How can
anybody defend the supply-side theory by citing the '80s? In discussions of the
supply-side experience during the Reagan era, I rarely hear anyone speak up
about the deficit spending that accompanied the tax cuts.

            --Kam
Thakker