Dear Dr. Zajc,
I'm trying to get the American Journal of Physics to retract "Entropy and evolution" (Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11, November 2008). Equation 4b is an incorrect application of the Boltzmann equation for entropy. My correspondence about the issue is at
http://newevangelist.me/2012/02/02/american-journal-of-physics/
http://newevangelist.me/2012/02/23/american-association-of-physics-teachers/
http://newevangelist.me/2012/05/06/american-institute-of-physics/
An article explaining why the AJP article is absurd is at
http://creationwiki.org/Pseudoscience_in_the_American_Journal_of_Physics
I'll be giving a lecture in New York City about the matter on March 15, 2013. In addition to Equation 4b, I'll be discussing the following:
1. Darwinism only explains the adaptation of species to the environment, not common descent.
2. Advocates of intelligent design and nonreligious dilettantes are inhibited from thinking intelligently and rationally about evolution because of anxiety about religion.
3. It is an error to think evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics, but it is a more egregious error to think evolution does not violate the second law of thermodynamics because of the sun.
There is no cost for the lecture and no ticket, but to obtain a reservation and the exact location and time click on the following link:
Reservation for "Pseudoscience in the American Journal of Physics"
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Sent by fax and email.
Letter to President of Columbia University, February 24, 2013
Dear Mr. Bollinger,
Dr. William Zajc is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert the content of the letters to the presidents of New York University on February 24, 2013)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 212-854-9973
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to Lee C. Bollinger, February 24, 2013
Dear Mr. Bollinger,
I am writing to confirm my request given over the telephone for an appointment to see you about my complaint in the letter dated February 24, 2013.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to President of Binghamton University, February 27, 2013
Dear Mr. Stenger,
Dr. Eric Cotts is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above.)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 607-777-2533
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to President of City College of New York, February 24, 2013
Dear Dr. Coico,
Dr. Marilyn Gunner is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 212-650-7680
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to Lisa S. Coico, March 14, 2013
Dear Dr. Coico,
I am writing to confirm my request made in an email and to Jacob Morel for an appointment with you to discuss my letter to you dated February 24, 2013.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to President of Creighton University, February 22, 2013
Dear Fr. Lannon,
Dr. Janet Seger and Dr. Russell Reno are not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 402-280-2727
Mailed with a certificate of mailing
Letter to President of Fordham University, February 21, 2013
Dear Fr. McShane,
Dr. Vassillos Fessatidis is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). Fr. Joseph Koterski and Fr. Joseph Lienhard are also involved in this because of their association with Stephen Barr. (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with a certificate of mailing
Letter to Fr. Joseph M. McShane, March 14, 2013
Dear Fr. McShane,
I am writing to confirm the request I made by telephone to Monica and the provost’s office for an appointment to discuss with you the letter I sent on February 21, 2013.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with a certificate of mailing
Letter to President of Georgetown University, February 21, 2013
Dear Mr. DeGioia,
Dr. Edward Van Keuren is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). Fr. Stephen Fields is also involved in this because of his association with Stephen Barr. (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 202-687-6660
Letter to John J. DeGioia, March 23, 2013
Dear Mr. DeGioia,
I am writing to request an appointment to discuss my letter to you of February 21, 2013, criticizing Dr. Edward Van Keuren and Fr. Stephen Fields for helping the American Journal of Physics cover up its mistake in publishing “Entropy and evolution.” To this list I want to add Dr. John H. Haught and Dr. Joseph Serene.
I posted a review of Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA on Amazon.com that explains why the article contains an incorrect equation in physics. This situation is like the story of the Emperor’s Clothes, where only a child spoke out. Another sickening analogy is that it is like the silence of people in Nazi Germany about the murder of civilians during World War II.
If the AJP article is not retracted and you do not meet with me, you will have a shameful act on your conscience.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 202-687-6660
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to President of Loyola Marymount University, February 24, 2013
Dear Mr. Burcham,
Dr. John Bulman and Dr. Jeffrey Phillip are not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to President of Queen’s College, February 26, 2013
Dear Mr. Muyskens,
Dr. Alexander Lisyansky is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to James L Muyskens, March 14, 2013
Dear Mr. Muyskens,
I am writing to confirm the request made by email and telephone for an appointment with you to discuss my letter to you dated February 26, 2013.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to President of St. John’s University, February 26, 2013
Dear Fr. Harrington,
Dr. Mostafa Sadoqi is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to Rev. Donald J. Harrington, March 14, 2013
Dear Fr. Harrington,
I am writing to confirm my request made in a telephone conversation with Robert Mangioni and on your office answering machine for an appointment with you to discuss my letter to you dated February 26, 2013.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to the President of Stony Brook University, February 27, 2013
Dear Dr. Stanley,
Dr. Laszlo Mihaly and Dr. Gene Sprouse are not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Faxed to 631-632-6621
Letter to Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., M.D., March 14, 2013
Dear Dr. Stanley,
I am writing to confirm the request for an appointment with you that I emailed to Carol Londorio to discuss the letter I mailed to you dated February 27, 2013.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to the President of University of Delaware, February 21, 2013
Dear Mr. Harker,
Dr. Stephen Barr and Dr. Edmund Nowak are not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 302-831-6023
Letter to the President of the University of North Colorado, March 25, 2013
Dear Ms. Norton,
Dr. Cynthia Galovitch is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with a certificate of mailing
Faxed to 970-351-1110
Letter to the President of the University of California, Berkeley, March 17, 2014
Dear Dr. Dirks,
Terrance Deacon sent me an email refusing to support my criticism of the editor of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science. Deacon is Chair of Anthropology and is on the Editorial Advisory Board of Zygon.
I am a religious blogger and speaker, and have a PhD in physics from New York University. I was ridiculing Richard Dawkins for things he said about the second law of thermodynamics and evolution in one of his books. An officer of the National Center for Science Education cited an article published by the American Journal of Physics saying exactly the same thing Dawkins said and proving it with a calculation.
I was shocked when I read the article, and I explained why the calculation was wrong to the editor of the AJP. He suggested I submit my own article about the matter. I did so, and an anonymous reviewer said my article was not publishable. Zygon is engaging in the same kind of shenanigans.
I told Yvette Clarke (D-NY, 9th district) that the AJP is perpetrating a fraud upon the public with the goal of promoting atheism. My correspondence with the U. S. House of Representatives is here:
http://newevangelist.me/2013/04/12/national-science-foundation/
The following 3-minute podcast gives my understanding of the conflict about the theory of intelligent design and sheds light on this matter:
http://www.buzzsprout.com/16337/143091-the-intelligent-design-scam
The AJP article sheds light on the murder of civilians during WWII by the Nazis. No one was ever forced to kill anyone. However, there were severe penalties for anyone who told about the murders. The science establishment in the United States is covering up the mistake the AJP made in publishing the article. I found out the penalty that is in store for anyone who blows the whistle on the AJP. When I contacted a professor at New York University about this matter, his response was insulting and hostile.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with a certificate of mailing and faxed to 510-643-5499
Letter to the President of the University of Oregon, February 3, 2014
Dear Mr. Gottfredson,
David Sokoloff, Stanley Micklavzina, and Ray Frey of your physics department are helping the American Journal of Physics cover up its mistake in publishing an article about evolution that discredits creationism. The article makes the anti-religion side in the culture war about evolution look ridiculous, and I can guess whose side those characters are on. I can understand their difficulty in wrapping their heads around the idea that a peer-reviewed physics article could be absurd, and I am willing to explain the errors in the article to them.
My latest email to them was directed to Miss Zhen Cheng (zcheng@uoregon.edu) who is on the mailing list of the American Scientific Affiliation. The ASA is supporting the AJP even though it is a Christian organization. I am urging Miss Cheng to give up her membership in the ASA as a protest. I am concerned that the three stooges will discriminate against her because she is a member of a Christian organization. I am also concerned that they will put pressure on her not to resign from the ASA.
I think you should know too that the ASA has told me in the past I am misusing their mailing list. However, their current silence is indicative of their low moral values. Sokoloff’s low moral values were revealed in his email to me: “Remove me from your email list, now! David Sokoloff, Way Past President, American Association of Physics Teachers.” The AAPT is one of the publishers of the AJP.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
mailed with a certificate of mailing
faxed to 541-346-5217, 541-346-3017
Letter to President of Yeshiva University, February 26, 2013
Dear Mr. Joel,
Dr. Fredy Zypman is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). (Insert as above)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to President of Yeshiva University, March 14, 2013
Dear Mr. Joel,
I am writing to confirm the request I communicated to Cyndy Phelps for an appointment with you to discuss my letter of February 26, 2013.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter to David Berger,Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, April 3, 2014
Dear Dr. Berger,
I’v attached a copy of the email I sent to you (dberger@yu.edu) and Josh Joseph (josh.josheph@yu.edu) on April 1, 2014. I spoke to your secretary that morning and told her I sent the email. She said she would give you a heads up.
This morning, in our telephone conversation, you said that you did not get the email. You hung up on me when I said your physics chair (Fredy Zypman) was disgracing Yeshiva U. because he was helping the American Journal of Physics promote atheistic pseudoscience. You can apologize for your disgraceful conduct by inviting me to explain to you why the article referred to should be retracted.
Very truly yours,David Roemer
attachment
mailed with a certificate of mailing
Faxed to 212-960-0856
CC: Hon. Charles E. Schumer
780 Third Ave suite 2301
New York, NY 10017
Letter sent to David Gottesman, First Manhattan Co., April 10, 2014
Dear Mr. Gottesman,
Over a year ago, you refused my request for an appointment to explain why the chairman of the physics department at Yeshiva was a moral coward. On September 9, 2013, I met with your counterpart at Providence College (Fr. Brian Mulcahy, 212-737-5757) and explained why the chairman of the physics department there had the same character defect. Fr. Mulcahy indicated that he would investigate my allegations, but he never got back to me. The enclosed email to Prof. Berger tells part of the story of what I am complaining about.
I’v since contacted Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand as the matter now concerns national security. You should do one of the following things:
1) Invite me to explain the matter in person.
2) Ask Fr. Mulcahy what happened during and after our meeting.
3) Ask your congressman what the status is of Congressman Yvette Clarke’s investigation of this scandal.
4) Ask the senators whether they will be assigning a caseworker to my complaint. I also told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security about this.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
mailed with a certificate of mailing
faxed to 212-223-4175
Emailed to David Berger
Dear Professor Berger,
I am hoping you will take an interest in this matter because I believe it sheds light on the Holocaust. In Nazi Germany, no one was ever forced to kill anyone. However, there were severe penalties for telling about the murders.
In the 21st century, the entire scientific establishment in the U.S. is helping to cover up a mistake the American Journal of Physics made in publishing an absurd article about evolution and thermodynamics. The article undermines the integrity of science and gives Islamic terrorists real evidence that American is the "Great Satan." The article reminds me of the famous Piltdown Man hoax.
The attached certificate of mailing is for an ignored request to explain this matter to the President of Yeshiva U. To understand this hoax, it helps to understand why the theory of intelligent design is a scam perpetrated by those for and against ID. I explain my point of view in this 3-minute podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/16377/143091-the-intelligent-design-scam.
This is a letter I wrote to Congressman Yvette Clarke (D-NY, 9th district) about the evolution hoax.
This is my letter to the AAUP:
http://newevangelist.me/2013/12/16/letter-to-the-american-association-of-university-professors/
My letter to the Father General of the Order of Jesuits is here:
http://newevangelist.me/2013/06/21/priests/
I have also contacted Senator Charles Schumer about this matter, and have asked him to assign a caseworker.
If this request is ignored, I will file an ethics complaint against Senator Schumer.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Letter to President St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, February 19, 2013
Dear Brother Mann,
Fr. Paul Nienaber is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). This article disseminates misinformation about evolutionary biology and has no scientific value. The AJP is not following accepted procedures for a peer-reviewed article when an error has been pointed out. By his silence and inaction, Nienaber is helping the AJP cover up its mistake. The Catholic Truth of Scotland published an essay I wrote in May, 2012, about this because of the connection between evolution and religious faith in the minds of many people. The following link makes it clear to anyone why the AJP article is absurd:
http://creationwiki.org/Pseudoscience_in_the_American_Journal_of_Physics.
Dr. Stephen Barr and Dr. Randy Isaac are two prominent physicists who write about evolution and religion and who are Christians. They are also guilty of supporting the actions of the AJP and its publishers. Barr angrily wrote to me saying that I was wrong and was harming the Catholic Church. Isaac offered to “walk me through” the matter. Barr and Isaac were sincere at first, but their behavior changed for the worse when I replied to their condescending response to my allegations. This does not justify Donaldson’s response, but rather shows how important it is for the AJP to retract the article.
The theory of evolution is that mammals evolved from bacteria over a period of 3.5 billion years. Many who call this theory a fact think the theory that free will is an illusion is also a fact. Both theories are related to religious faith. Religion causes conflict between people, and conflict causes anxiety. Inhibition is a defense mechanism against anxiety, and many scientists are inhibited from thinking intelligently and rationally and behaving honestly about evolution.
Fact or theory, evolution gives rise to the question of what caused it. The theory of natural selection only explains the adaptation of species to the environment. In other words, natural selection explains why giraffes have long necks, but not how giraffes evolved from bacteria in only 3.5 billion years. Evolutionary biologists always speak of “adaptive evolution.”
This limitation of the explanatory power of natural selection gives rise to the erroneous idea that evolution violates the laws of physics, specifically the second law of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics states that nature tends to go from order to disorder and that entropy either decreases or remains the same. Entropy is a thermodynamic variable related to heat and temperature. The truth is that the second law of thermodynamics does not apply to the evolution of stars or biological evolution.
The AJP article says the second law is not violated because it only applies to isolated systems, not systems exposed to sunlight. This reasoning is literally unintelligible. The idea that evolution violates the second law is intelligible, but simply wrong. What makes the AJP article morally offensive is that it misapplies a standard thermodynamic equation to prove that the second law of thermodynamics is not violated. Anyone who can’t see that the calculation is nonsense should not be teaching thermodynamics. Anyone who remains silent about this outrageous article is a moral coward.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed and emailed
Letter sent to President of New York University, February 24, 2013
Dear John Sexton,
Dr. David Grier is not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). This article disseminates misinformation about evolutionary biology and has no scientific value. The AJP is not following accepted procedures for a peer-reviewed article when an error has been pointed out. By his silence and inaction, Grier is helping the AJP cover up its mistake. The Catholic Truth of Scotland published an essay I wrote in May, 2012, about this because of the connection between evolution and religious faith in the minds of many people. The following link makes it clear to anyone why the AJP article is absurd:
(See above letter to Brother Mann)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 212-995-4790
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter sent to John Sexton, March 11, 2013
Dear Mr. Sexton,
I called your office twice to follow up on a letter I mailed to you on February 24, 2013. I was assured only that the letter was sent to the appropriate person. I want to meet with you in person to explain the importance of the matter.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 212-995-4790
Mailed with certificate of mailing
Letter sent to President of the University of Virginia, February 21, 2013
Dear Dr. Teresa A. Sullivan,
Dr. Joseph Poon and Dr. Robert Louis Wilken are not supporting my efforts to get the American Journal of Physics to retract an article published in November, 2008 (“Entropy and evolution,” Am. J. Phys., Vol. 76, No. 11). This article disseminates misinformation about evolutionary biology and has no scientific value. The AJP is not following accepted procedures for a peer-reviewed article when an error has been pointed out. By his silence and inaction, Poon is helping the AJP cover up its mistake. Wilken is actively supporting the AJP, and has advised First Things not to publish a version of an article published by The Catholic Truth of Scotland in May, 2012. The following link makes it clear to anyone why the AJP article is absurd:
(See above letter to Brother Mann)
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Faxed to 434-924-3792
Letter sent to President of California State University Chico, February 4, 2013
Dear Paul Zingg,
Dr. Eric Ayars, of your physics department, is active in the American Association of Physics Teachers, which publishes the American Journal of Physics. I’v been contacting physicists and their supervisors, in this case Dr. Christopher Gaffney, to put moral pressure on the AJP to retract an article titled, “Entropy and evolution.” The article promotes misinformation about evolution and physics, and indirectly about religion.
I explained why to Ayars and Gaffney, but they are refusing even to consider the matter. They cannot wrap their young minds around the idea that a peer-reviewed physics article is absurd. I don’t think they even read this rebuttal:
http://creationwiki.org/Pseudoscience_in_the_American_Journal_of_Physics
I wrote this article but am not able to make major edits because I am not a creationist. I am sure Creationwiki will correct any mistakes in my analysis that Gaffney and Ayars may find. Until they address themselves to this matter in a reasonable way, don’t let them teach a course on thermodynamics.
Very truly yours, David Roemer
Email: pzingg@csuchico.edu
Fax: 530-898-5077