h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

1st:

Edited version: 'Einstein was of course a very intelligent man, and few dare to doubt him;'

I don't like the 'of course' in this sentence. He was not an intelligent man just because his name was Einstein. Most of his stuff was the result of hard work. It's not 'of course'.

2nd:

I had two passages in the text sounding similar to stress the similarity of Einstein's and Newton's authority by the time. They went like this: 'Einstein was a very intelligent man, and few dared to seriously doubt him.' The second passage goes like this: 'Newton was a very intelligent man, and few dared to seriously doubt him'

I think these passages should be taken as they are into the edited form. (The second one isn't there.)

Thanks for your patience,

HELL

Oh BTW...

'Einstein was a very intelligent man, and few dared to seriously doubt him.'

I think you should leave the 'seriously' in there. Many doubted him, but no-one came up with something serious. I think in your text you give the impression that absolutely no-one doubted him.

The same goes with the Newton passage.

Yours,

HELL

Sorry... getting a bit lost - could you tell me exactly where in the entry the sentence you would like to change is? And what you would like to change it to. I've taken out the 'of course'

The last sentence in the first bullet in the section 'The Wave-particle Nature of Light'

'A short history:

-By 1704, Newton, in his work entitled Opticks, had put forward his view that light itself is corpuscular, but that the corpuscles are able to excite waves in the ether. Newton preferred to see light as a corpuscular phenomenon because light obviously travels in straight lines, whereas waves can bend into the region of shadow. Few dared to doubt Newton.'

The part concerning Einstein is now OK. Thanks.

HELL

Oh... The last sentence should be:

'Newton was a very intelligent man, and few dared to
seriously doubt him'...

Like in the Einstein passage (it's in the last paragraphs of the 'speed of light' section)

Ta.

HELL

I've changed that sentence in the section 'The Wave-particle Nature of Light', but haven't added the sentence about Newton being a very intelligent man, as it seems a little repetitive when you've already said the same thing about Einstein (though I agree that they were both very intelligent!)

That repetition is absolutely on purpose. The repetition is there to draw a parallel between Newton and Einstein and their respective authority, and how their veredict was absorbed by the scientific community at the time. I think it should remain there. Pleease.

HELL

Pleeeeease Anna, commentz on the above.

To me, this is important.

HELL

Sorry Hell, I didn't mean to give the impression that I was ignoring you - I wasn't well earlier in the week and the rest of the time I've been helping Sam while Ashley's been away on holiday...

Anyway, it's Friday and I've only just got round to it, but it's done now Have a lovely weekend.

Okay, it's Friday - again - and I wish you, too, a lovely weekend.

HELL

You too!