A few months ago the author of this article, Clifford Stoll, wrote a short, thoughtful note admitting how badly he got it wrong: "Of my many mistakes, flubs, a

A few months ago the author of this article, Clifford Stoll, wrote a short, thoughtful note admitting how badly he got it wrong: "Of my many mistakes, flubs, and howlers, few have been as public as my 1995 howler. Wrong? Yep. At the time, I was trying to speak against the tide of futuristic commentary on how The Internet Will Solve Our Problems. Gives me pause. Most of my screwups have had limited publicity: Forgetting my lines in my 4th grade play. Misidentifying a Gilbert and Sullivan song while suddenly drafted to fill in as announcer on a classical radio station. Wasting a week hunting for planets interior to Mercury's orbit using an infrared system with a noise level so high that it couldn't possibly detect 'em. Heck - trying to dry my sneakers in a microwave oven (a quarter century later, there's still a smudge on the kitchen ceiling) And, as I've laughed at others' foibles, I think back to some of my own cringeworthy contributions. Now, whenever I think I know what's happening, I temper my thoughts: Might be wrong, Cliff... Warm cheers to all, -Cliff Stoll on a rainy Friday afternoon in Oakland" Assuming the author really is Stoll, major props to him for admitting he got it wrong. Source: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/26/curmudgeony-essay-on.html#comment-723356 http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/26/curmudgeony-essay-on.ht...