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> Linear A is completely undeciphered, so amateurs have done exactly as well as professionals. Academics have absolutely done better than amateurs by virtue of
by greggsy 3y ago
> Linear A is completely undeciphered, so amateurs have done exactly as well as professionals.
Academics have absolutely done better than amateurs by virtue of continually validating the fact that it isn’t decipherable.
The comment isn’t even bashing amateurs - it’s bashing crackpots, who tend to be allured towards the mysterious, especially if their crackpot ideas won’t be inconvenienced by facts.
- chickenbittle 3y agoYeah I think it's really important to distinguish between 'amateur', and 'crackpot' here. Like that amateur stumbling upon that never-repeating tile recently. https://www.quantamagazine.org/hobbyist-finds-maths-elusive-einstein-tile-20230404/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/hobbyist-finds-maths-elusive-... It still required academics to confirm it (and I think realize it's significants). In short it's okay to be an academic and it's also okay to be an amateur investigator. Both can and do contribute to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. Crackpottery and pseudoscience not so much.