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>Pergamon Press in 1951 (coincidentally founded by Ghislaine Maxwell's father) perhaps a bit off-topic, but what is coincidental about this and/or what is the

>Pergamon Press in 1951 (coincidentally founded by Ghislaine Maxwell's father) perhaps a bit off-topic, but what is coincidental about this and/or what is the relevance of Ghislaine Maxwell here?

benterix 8mo ago
It's useless, but I'm ashamed to admit I found this tiny piece of trivia interesting.
- readthenotes1 8mo ago
  Like the paywall blocking many scientific arti6, perhaps it would be best if we released also the Epstein Files?
anonymars 8mo ago
I imagine it's the interesting peculiarity that the same people seem to crop up over and over and over again. Six degrees of Kevin Bacon or something, except it's like one or two degrees. As George Carlin said, "it's a big club, and you ain't in it" For example Donald Barr (father of twice-former US Attorney General Bill Barr) hiring college-dropout Jeffrey Epstein whilst headmaster at the elite Dalton School Additional fun facts about Donald Barr: he served in US intelligence during WWII, and wrote a sci-fi book featuring child sex slaves
- jl6 8mo ago
  Also the Epstein-Barr virus causes Mono, the clone of .NET, which was created by Bill Gates, known associate of Epstein, whose father was president of the Washington State Bar Association. And you know who else works in Washington? Join the dots, people.
  - Henchman21 8mo ago
    This might be my fav HN comment ever. Well done!
  - underlipton 8mo ago
    We call people who make connections like these "conspiracy theorists," until they're right, at which point we call them "right". And somewhere in between, if they manage to get a job, we call them "Simpsons writers."
    - weregiraffe 8mo ago
      >We call people who make connections like these "conspiracy theorists," until they're right They are never right, but boy do they love to pretend they are.
      - qsera 8mo ago
        They are never right, even when they are right; they are only right 50 years down the road....at which point no one cares..
tialaramex 8mo ago
Ghislaine's father (Robert Maxwell) was also a terrible person but for different reasons. Robert Maxwell was a crook, he used pension funds (supposed to be ring-fenced for the benefit of the pensioners) to prop up his companies, so, after his slightly mysterious death it was discovered that basically there's no money to pay people who've been assured of a pension when they retire. He was also very litigious. If you said he was a crook when he was alive you'd better hope you can prove it and that you have funding to stay in the fight until you do. So this means the sort of people who call out crooks were especially unhappy about Robert Maxwell because he was a crook and he might sue you if you pointed it out.
bryanrasmussen 8mo ago
I believe by saying it is coincidental they are saying there is probably no relevance, just an interesting piece of trivia, why put out this interesting piece of trivia? Because maybe someone will be able to make an argument of relevance.
- pocksuppet 8mo ago
  It's more than coincidental, but tangential to the point. It shows crime runs in families.
bartread 8mo ago
If you want to know more about the history of Pergamon Press there's a great Behind the Bastards episode on Robert Maxwell (Ghislaine Maxwell's father) - who himself was a scumbag in a variety of ways that were entirely distinct from Ghislaine Maxwell's brand of scumbaggery - that covers this. Might even be a multipart episode - it's a while since I've listened to it, but I have a feeling it's at least a two parter.
pessimizer 8mo ago
"Coincidental" means random, with no causal connection being explicitly claimed. It just means that two things share some characteristic (such as being relatives.) The thing that is coincidental is that the person who founded the company being discussed is also the father of another person who current events have brought into prominence. It's why you would say something like "more than coincidental" if you were trying to make some causal claim, like one thing causing the other, or both things coming from the same cause. So, "What is coincidental about that?" is a weird question. It reads as a rhetorical claim of a causal connection through asking for a denial or a disproof of one.
- deleted 8mo ago
  [deleted]
- john_strinlai 8mo ago
  sorry. what is the relevance to the discussion about journals and peer review is my main question. if i randomly mentioned that your name appears to be an alternate spelling of a 3-band active EQ guitar pedal, coincidentally sharing all of the letters except one, in my reply to you, most people would be confused. that is how i felt when randomly reading "Ghislaine Maxwell" in this context of journals and peer review.
SimianSci 8mo ago
People have always been fascinated by where they might find monsters. This one so happens to be in our history, so many will find it noteworthy.

>Pergamon Press in 1951 (coincidentally founded by Ghislaine Maxwell's father) perhaps a bit off-topic, but what is coincidental about this and/or what is the relevance of Ghislaine Maxwell here?

benterix 8mo ago

It's useless, but I'm ashamed to admit I found this tiny piece of trivia interesting.

readthenotes1 8mo ago
Like the paywall blocking many scientific arti6, perhaps it would be best if we released also the Epstein Files?

anonymars 8mo ago

I imagine it's the interesting peculiarity that the same people seem to crop up over and over and over again. Six degrees of Kevin Bacon or something, except it's like one or two degrees. As George Carlin said, "it's a big club, and you ain't in it" For example Donald Barr (father of twice-former US Attorney General Bill Barr) hiring college-dropout Jeffrey Epstein whilst headmaster at the elite Dalton School Additional fun facts about Donald Barr: he served in US intelligence during WWII, and wrote a sci-fi book featuring child sex slaves

jl6 8mo ago
Also the Epstein-Barr virus causes Mono, the clone of .NET, which was created by Bill Gates, known associate of Epstein, whose father was president of the Washington State Bar Association. And you know who else works in Washington? Join the dots, people.
- Henchman21 8mo ago
  This might be my fav HN comment ever. Well done!
- underlipton 8mo ago
  We call people who make connections like these "conspiracy theorists," until they're right, at which point we call them "right". And somewhere in between, if they manage to get a job, we call them "Simpsons writers."
  - weregiraffe 8mo ago
    >We call people who make connections like these "conspiracy theorists," until they're right They are never right, but boy do they love to pretend they are.
    - qsera 8mo ago
      They are never right, even when they are right; they are only right 50 years down the road....at which point no one cares..

tialaramex 8mo ago

Ghislaine's father (Robert Maxwell) was also a terrible person but for different reasons. Robert Maxwell was a crook, he used pension funds (supposed to be ring-fenced for the benefit of the pensioners) to prop up his companies, so, after his slightly mysterious death it was discovered that basically there's no money to pay people who've been assured of a pension when they retire. He was also very litigious. If you said he was a crook when he was alive you'd better hope you can prove it and that you have funding to stay in the fight until you do. So this means the sort of people who call out crooks were especially unhappy about Robert Maxwell because he was a crook and he might sue you if you pointed it out.

bryanrasmussen 8mo ago

I believe by saying it is coincidental they are saying there is probably no relevance, just an interesting piece of trivia, why put out this interesting piece of trivia? Because maybe someone will be able to make an argument of relevance.

pocksuppet 8mo ago
It's more than coincidental, but tangential to the point. It shows crime runs in families.

bartread 8mo ago

If you want to know more about the history of Pergamon Press there's a great Behind the Bastards episode on Robert Maxwell (Ghislaine Maxwell's father) - who himself was a scumbag in a variety of ways that were entirely distinct from Ghislaine Maxwell's brand of scumbaggery - that covers this. Might even be a multipart episode - it's a while since I've listened to it, but I have a feeling it's at least a two parter.

pessimizer 8mo ago

"Coincidental" means random, with no causal connection being explicitly claimed. It just means that two things share some characteristic (such as being relatives.) The thing that is coincidental is that the person who founded the company being discussed is also the father of another person who current events have brought into prominence. It's why you would say something like "more than coincidental" if you were trying to make some causal claim, like one thing causing the other, or both things coming from the same cause. So, "What is coincidental about that?" is a weird question. It reads as a rhetorical claim of a causal connection through asking for a denial or a disproof of one.

deleted 8mo ago
[deleted]
john_strinlai 8mo ago
sorry. what is the relevance to the discussion about journals and peer review is my main question. if i randomly mentioned that your name appears to be an alternate spelling of a 3-band active EQ guitar pedal, coincidentally sharing all of the letters except one, in my reply to you, most people would be confused. that is how i felt when randomly reading "Ghislaine Maxwell" in this context of journals and peer review.

SimianSci 8mo ago

People have always been fascinated by where they might find monsters. This one so happens to be in our history, so many will find it noteworthy.