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This is far from the first time, so let me state this more explicitly: John Horgan is a provocateur with no knowledge of any field, whose only claim to fame is

by knzhou 7y ago

This is far from the first time, so let me state this more explicitly: John Horgan is a provocateur with no knowledge of any field, whose only claim to fame is that he is so breathtakingly and publicly wrong that he gets people with real expertise to engage with him. Then he disingenuously frames the result as a real intellectual controversy with him at its center. He is one of the top reasons I don’t take anything from Scientific American seriously anymore, and a great example of how the incentive structures in science popularization ruin it. I find that I can tell how savvy an online community is by how much it likes his work.

oefrha 7y ago
> Mathematicians named a mathematical object after me. It’s called the Horgan surface, or, alternatively, Horgan non-surface. The term was intended as an insult, but I’m honored anyway. Neatly summarizes this guy’s motivation for writing provocative bullshit. To him, infamous == famous.
Turing_Machine 7y ago
> He is one of the top reasons I don’t take anything from Scientific American seriously anymore Some people have started calling it "Two Lies, One Title". It's turned into the BuzzFeed of science journalism.