Re: paleonet peppered moth

[Judith Harris <harrisj@xxxxxxx>]

Goodrich, the early 20th century morphologist, has been accused of faulty experiments, misleading drawings, etc. I have found his work wonderful to use in teaching and have a "wait and see" attitude. I have the same attidtude with Kettlewell's work. All too many people enjoy attacking iconic scientists by clubbing at their clay feet. 

I at least hope that these accusations are false or incomplete. These people did a lot for their respective fields. Let us not call them the makers of "Piltdown" until there is excellent evidence.

Judith

On May 5, 2005, at 10:19 AM, Joanne Kluessendorf wrote:

For insight on the peppered moth and its role as an "icon of evolution", see the March/April 2005 issue of Skeptical Inquirer, vol. 29, p. 23-28.  The article's authors conclude that the claims of fraud in Kettlewell's original experiments related by Judith Hooper in her 2002 book"Of Moths and Men: the Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth" are "moonshine" and "based on a lack of understanding of his experiments and of experimental science in general."