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  • From: "B. M. Rocine" <brocine AT twcny.rr.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] how scholars debate controversial issues
  • Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:08:33 -0400

B-Haverim,

As of six or so months ago, I retired as a moderator of the b-hebrew list, but let me chime in here.

I hate to think that b-hebrew would be a place where the members will make a Ph.D. defend his dissertation in detail. Quite simply, we will attract very few scholars to the list if they must. Any scholars the list does attract will only lurk if the membership will treat the forum like a fox hunt.
To those who say a scholar becomes "open game" as soon as he publishes, so he needs to take the heat or get out of the kitchen: I say, true, but the academic will choose his kitchen, and it won't likely be the b-hebrew e-mail forum. A scholar doesn't need b-hebrew to make his point or his reputation. On the other hand, without the real scholars, the quality of the list decreases for everyone.

I would rather see us attract the best scholars to the list by appreciating each other and putting the Ph.D's to the test *sparingly.* If the membership wants to slap hard, go after the "hobbyists" like me! ;-)
E-mail forums are about the only arenas in which some of you have to make your reputations. Okay for you, but the PhD.'s won't want to compete in this unguilded venue.

Some b-hebrew members may think that some scholars are not worthy of their Ph.D.s. Perhaps, but it is not b-hebrew's mission to overturn the decision of the academic guild. Again, if there is not a high respect for high academic rank, we will have zero hope of attracting really good scholars to the list.

Yes, I have had long discussions with Rolf over the years, but I think we carried on in a friendly manner, and I tried to keep our exchanges limited to two or three on a topic. I personally don't want to force a Ph.D. Hebraist into writing, "I don't want to continue this discussion any more." That embarrasses him because it seems like a dodge to a membership of about 900 people. Why would any of us want to do that to someone? Do we suppose the professional scholar's grapes are sour?

Shalom,
Bryan

Bill Rea wrote:
Kenneth asked:-

I am not a scholar, and I have not understood anything in the argument
about Rolf's dissertation or whatever the discussion has been about. I am
just curious about how scholars debate normally. Is the debate that
you've been doing on B-Hebrew the normal way that scholars discuss
controversial subjects or is this somehow different? Also, when someone
has a controversial opinion like Rolf, don't scholars analyze the ideas
right away because it sounds like his ideas have been around for a while
and no one has analyzed them. Maybe I did not understand the discussion,
but it sounds like this to me.

Although Rolf has worked on his ideas for ten years or so and has
posted on this list a number of times, he has only completed his
Ph.D. quite recently and so the full work has only just become
available. It was not until the full dissertation became available
that anyone could look at it in detail. Paradigm shifts occur
rapidly. When a new idea comes along which is better than the
previous one (e.g. Quantum mechanics, evolution) it only takes
a matter of a few years to revolutionise the field. Unfortunately,
most original research ends up going down a dead end and produces
nothing useful. That's a general observation, not a specific one
on the subject of Rolf's work.

The world of theses is moving into the electronic age. Here, all
Master's and Ph.D. theses are required to be submitted in
electronic form in addition to the traditional hard-bound
volumes. They are being made available on the web for download
by anyone interested. We are no leader in this, but it appears
Rolf's thesis isn't available in electronic form so perhaps the
policy at Oslo is different.


Bill Rea, ICT Services, University of Canterbury \_
E-Mail bill.rea AT canterbury.ac.nz </ New
Phone 64-3-364-2331, Fax 64-3-364-2332 /) Zealand
Unix Systems Administrator (/'

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--
B.M. Rocine
Living Word Church
6101 Court St. Rd.
Syracuse, NY 13206
W: (315) 437-6744





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