[meteorite-list] Fake Norway Rock

[Greg Crinklaw]

Hi everyone. I've been a lurker here for some time. By way of 
introduction, I'm an astronomer with an interest in geology and 
meteorites. I have met a few of you in person and purchased meteorites 
for my small collection from some of you. I've also done some hunting 
here in southern New Mexico.

I should probably just keep my keyboard shut, because when I start 
typing, trouble often follows. :-) But I have been reading this 
discussion about the Norway video from the beginning, and I feel 
compelled to support what Chris has said.

As Chris said, there was nothing inherent in the video to make it appear 
to be a hoax. This is what made it interesting and what made it stand 
out from the hoaxes you see on Youtube. It was far too easy to simply 
dismiss it without investigating the circumstances and the people 
involved. Those who did dismiss it should not feel vindicated by the 
result, for they contributed nothing to it.

In fact, the dismissals seen here of the video without first looking 
into its details were just as wrong as accepting everything on Youtube 
to be true. If you don't do the work before you come to a conclusion, 
then it matters not if you are being naive or cynical. If the truth is 
what you are interested in, there is only one way to know it; you have 
to do the hard work and investigation *before* coming to a conclusion.

Now that others have done that work, and the true nature of the object 
has likely been exposed, it is not fair for some to claim that they knew 
all along it was a fake and to suggest that the people who made an 
effort to understand the video were somehow duped. That's just plain 
backwards.

Greg

-- 
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico
skyhound.com