As an interview article, it was pretty light. I have to agree with Burt on this point:
I whip out my list of questions, but before I get to the first, Rutan blindsides me. “Which magazine are you from again?” I tell him. “OK, well, I won’t talk to Scientific American,” he says, “They improperly covered man-made global warming. They drink Kool-Aid instead of doing research. They parrot stuff from the IPCC and Al Gore.” I’m taken aback but curiosity gets the better of me so I ask him what he means. For the next 30 minutes he launches into an impassioned diatribe. He believes claims of catastrophic global warming are nothing but scare-mongering and are a product of “the greatest scientific fraud ever”. At first I think this is some sort of joke but he’s totally serious and at times gets quite angry.
I have the feeling that in the future, he won’t be giving any interviews to New Scientist either.
What a poor excuse for an interview!
I mean you’ve got Burt Rutan! And that’s all you can think to ask him and write about.
NewScientist has been anything but for years. Anyone who reads it with a critical mind will fast turn it into birdcage liner.
I have been an admirer of Mr. Rutan’s since his days making innovative small aeroplanes. So when he was successful with SpaceShipOne I was glad he would get renown from the public. Instead all we heard from the press (excepting the popular science press) was Branson, Branson, Branson. How sad it is when a man of inventive genius is completely overshadowed by his rich celebrity benefactor. Which is not to say Branson is not a great man who deserves recognition.
As an interview article, it was pretty light. I have to agree with Burt on this point:
I whip out my list of questions, but before I get to the first, Rutan blindsides me. “Which magazine are you from again?” I tell him. “OK, well, I won’t talk to Scientific American,” he says, “They improperly covered man-made global warming. They drink Kool-Aid instead of doing research. They parrot stuff from the IPCC and Al Gore.” I’m taken aback but curiosity gets the better of me so I ask him what he means. For the next 30 minutes he launches into an impassioned diatribe. He believes claims of catastrophic global warming are nothing but scare-mongering and are a product of “the greatest scientific fraud ever”. At first I think this is some sort of joke but he’s totally serious and at times gets quite angry.
I have the feeling that in the future, he won’t be giving any interviews to New Scientist either.
What a poor excuse for an interview!
I mean you’ve got Burt Rutan! And that’s all you can think to ask him and write about.
NewScientist has been anything but for years. Anyone who reads it with a critical mind will fast turn it into birdcage liner.
I have been an admirer of Mr. Rutan’s since his days making innovative small aeroplanes. So when he was successful with SpaceShipOne I was glad he would get renown from the public. Instead all we heard from the press (excepting the popular science press) was Branson, Branson, Branson. How sad it is when a man of inventive genius is completely overshadowed by his rich celebrity benefactor. Which is not to say Branson is not a great man who deserves recognition.