Re: Colin Patterson/Luther Sunderland

Stephen Jones (sjones@iinet.net.au)
Tue, 02 Apr 96 21:42:52 EST

Tom

On Mon, 25 Mar 1996 19:43:54 -0700 (MST) you wrote:

TM>Lots of confusion here :)

That's OK. I won't hold it against you! :-)

SJ>I think there is confusion here. Sunderland, as is normal
>practice, tape recorded his personal interviews with Patterson and
>other curators of natural history museums. I think Dodson is getting
>that confused with that. In fact I cannot see in Sunderland's book
>"Darwin's Enigma" where he even mentions Patterson's 1981 address to
>the AMNH!

TM>I think the confusion you're experiencing is because Sunderland
>wrote more than a single book. In my database alone I have him down
>for up to 6 publications in total (including Impacts etc). In fact,
>I think it's the following publication that's really being discussed
>here:
>
>Sunderland, L.D., and Parker, G.E., 1982, Evolution? Prominet scientist
>reconsiders: ICR Impact Series, no. 108, p.1-4.

OK. Sorry. I naturally assumed that Dodson was referring to
Sunderland's one and only "book" (I assume the above is a small
monograph?).

TM>I could be wrong about the exact publication, but in anycase, the
>people discussing this issue should clear up their sources for us.
>My guess is that the Patterson responses are in a Creation/Evolution
>Newsletter.

The date (1982) and the title "Evolution? Prominent scientist
reconsiders", sounds right. Yet it is interesting that Sunderland did
not mention Patterson's 1981 AMNH address in his 1984-1988 book
"Darwin's Enigma".

SJ>Well, after getting such a simple matter as Sunderland's tape
>recording of his interview with Patterson's in 1979, with a tape
>recording by an unnamed person at the AMNH in 1981 (which matter is
>not AFAIK even in Sunderland's book), Dodson does not have much
>credit with me for objectivity in this matter. But let's wait and
>see what the transcript says, shall we? :-)

TM>Before being critical of Dodson, be sure of the exact publications
>that are being discussed. Then you can be as critical as you want to
>be :)

I may be wrong about the book, but Dodson was wrong about Sunderland
being the one who taped it Patterson's 1981 AMNH address. I
understand from a private message that a "Wayne Frair, a regular
attendee at the AMNH lectures, recorded it."

Regards.

Steve

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