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20th February 2006, 03:09 PM
On a point of order - the gent in question is a PIFA, not a MIFA. He has not therefore been validated as being competent to perform MIFA-level responsibilities.
He was recently reported to the IFA for some unfortunate comments/ actions; they took action, and he published an apology/ retraction. Not all action by the IFA need necessarily result in removal of membership - that should be the ultimate sanction, not the first resort.
As for his book - I haven't read it, but the information quoted on this thread does sound as if he studied Roman military archaeology from a different text book than I used. It is unlikely that he would have been able to publish this information in a peer-reviewed journal.
However, publishing claptrap is not a disciplinary offence in itself. If we made it an offence to publish interpretations that do not agree with accepted wisdom, then we would never make significant interpretative advances. Part of the price we pay for that academic freedom is that it also applies to crackpots. My own view is that, rather than getting our ethical knickers in a twist about this, we should just laugh and read something else.
No-one can be disciplined for publishing rubbish (unless they are publishing primary evidence, e.g. information from their own excavations, and can be shown to be deliberately distorting it). However, if you know that someone is carrying out work for which you do not think they are competent, and you can sustain that with evidence, you are free to complain to the IFA - who are then bound to investigate. They are also bound to take action against the individual unless the evidence is too weak.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished
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20th February 2006, 09:41 PM
Thank you 1man.Apologies to the IFA.
..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)
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21st February 2006, 12:18 AM
Quote:quote:As an author, he is of course perfectly entitled to publish as he pleases and I suspect that he probably expects criticism anyway as (Von Daniken/Graham Hancock/David Ike)other, shall we say, controversial authors inevitably do.
well of course he can, freedom of speech and all that, daresay it makes for an interesting read.
As an idle aside, what chance do you think the above three gentleman would have of joining the IFA? I reckon Von Daniken (is he still alive?) would make a decent stab at being a MIFA, while David Ike is obviously running the whole caboodle in conjunction with giant alien lizards.
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21st February 2006, 12:33 AM
Think they would all do just fine on the IFA validation commitee.Seems that the three gentlemen in question have already been utilized by the IFA to go out and identify the real state of play in modern UK archaeology.
..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)
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21st February 2006, 02:08 PM
From Destroyer
Quote:quote:As an idle aside, what chance do you think the above three gentleman [Von Daniken, Graham Hancock, David Icke] would have of joining the IFA?
From Troll
Quote:quote:Think they would all do just fine on the IFA validation commitee.Seems that the three gentlemen in question have already been utilized by the IFA to go out and identify the real state of play in modern UK archaeology
Well, if they could show a degree in archaeology and six months archaeological experience, they would qualify for PIFA, just like Karl-James Langford. Publishing piffle does not disqualify them.
Troll, posting a silly jibe about the IFA does not follow on well from your previous post, which included an apology from you to them.
1man1desk
to let, fully furnished
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21st February 2006, 03:57 PM
Well, it would qualify them to apply for admission at practioner level. The Validation Committee would consider their applications in the same way as everyone elses, taking up references, considering publication record (if any) and so on.
No doubt Mr Icke would appeal to a higher authority...........
We owe the dead nothing but the truth.
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21st February 2006, 06:01 PM
Tiz called a free country 1man.My apology related to the PIFA/MIFA misunderstanding.Nothing more.
..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)
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24th February 2006, 05:40 PM
In response to my concerns over the competence of a IFA approved archaeologist, '1 man, 1 desk' responded
No-one can be disciplined for publishing rubbish (unless they are publishing primary evidence, e.g. information from their own excavations, and can be shown to be deliberately distorting it).
As Mr ****** is described as 'Chief Archaeologist' within his 'organization', just how the heck do you think he arrived at his ridiculous theories sir ?
They can only have come from excavations carried out by him and his buddies, as they contradict every piece of literature I have ever read in three decades of researching this subject !
One day Mr****** will be on TV spouting his ludicrous claims to a gullible public and will cause irreversible damage to your profession. It is not up to me, almost 7,000 miles away, to complain to a British body about the damage he is undoubtedly doing in your backyard.
In response to an earlier question, the weather here today is already sunny with the temperature promising to be in the low 70's. Ground is hard on the Native American site we are professionally investigating in the Mohave Desert at the moment.
If we uncover any trace of a Roman presence here, I will apologize publicly to Mr L******** and any friends he may have.
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24th February 2006, 11:29 PM
send us some of your sunshine sir?
..knowledge without action is insanity and action without knowledge is vanity..(imam ghazali,ayyuhal-walad)
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25th February 2006, 01:56 PM
Hi and good morning !
It's just before sun-up here and we've already got clear blue skies for another fine day ahead. We tend to start early to finish before it gets too hot around noon, which I'm sure is not a problem over there !!!
I was chatting via satellite link to a friend in Cardiff yesterday and she asked exactly the same thing, as it was snowing heavily there at the time and I said I'd see what I could do.
Lo and Behold ! She told me that the sun had come out as we talked ! It remained just above freezing tho, so my powers are obviously limited....
