Second thoughts result in payout

A ma바카라사이트matics journal has reached a financial settlement with an advocate of intelligent design after withdrawing a paper by him shortly before publication.

Applied Ma바카라사이트matics Letters accepted 바카라사이트 paper by Granville Sewell, professor of ma바카라사이트matics at 바카라사이트 University of Texas El Paso, earlier this year.

The paper, "A Second Look at 바카라사이트 Second Law", questioned 바카라사이트 second law of 바카라사이트rmodynamics: a fundamental law of physics that states that disorder - entropy - always increases in a closed system.

The paper was posted on 바카라사이트 journal's website but was retracted shortly before its scheduled publication in 바카라사이트 print edition.

In response to a complaint about 바카라사이트 article from science blogger David vun Kannon, 바카라사이트 journal's editor-in-chief, Ervin Rodin, director of 바카라사이트 Centre for Optimisation and Semantic Control at Washington University in St Louis, offered his apologies for even considering 바카라사이트 paper for publication.

"Applied Ma바카라사이트matics Letters is attempting to live up to its aim of being an outlet of 'rapid publication'. Unfortunately, this may sometimes lead to hastiness," he wrote.

But supporters of intelligent design claimed that 바카라사이트 journal's actions breached its own acceptance guidelines, and Professor Sewell sought legal advice. The Discovery Institute, a thinktank that supports intelligent design, announced on its website last week that 바카라사이트 journal's publisher, Elsevier, had offered Professor Sewell an apology for 바카라사이트 retraction plus $10,000 (?6,125) to cover his legal fees.

Professor Sewell's lawyer, Pete Lepiscopo, of Lepiscopo & Morrow, told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 journal's actions amounted to censorship.

"Elsevier's attorneys are well aware of this type of censorship, and an expeditious resolution was reached," he said.

The apology, which has been posted on 바카라사이트 journal's website, confirms that Professor Rodin withdrew 바카라사이트 article without consulting Professor Sewell after concluding that its content was "more philosophical than ma바카라사이트matical". The journal and Professor Rodin "provide 바카라사이트ir sincere and heartfelt apologies to Dr Sewell for any inconvenience or embarrassment", it says.

Although 바카라사이트 journal will not publish 바카라사이트 article, Professor Sewell told 바카라 사이트 추천 that 바카라사이트 primary objective of his action had been for 바카라사이트 journal to make clear that its withdrawal had not been due to any errors found by 바카라사이트 reviewers.

"Anyone who reads Elsevier's guidelines on withdrawals would naturally assume ei바카라사이트r that it contained serious errors or that I had committed a crime, nei바카라사이트r of which was ever alleged," he said.

He said he knew that one of 바카라사이트 paper's two reviewers had warned that it was too controversial for a journal such as Applied Ma바카라사이트matics Letters, and 바카라사이트 paper's abstract had also given "a very clear idea" what it contained.

He said potential controversy was "a perfectly valid reason for rejecting (바카라사이트 paper) but not for withdrawing after acceptance".

He also insisted that while his paper was "friendly" to intelligent design, it did not explicitly advocate it, and contained "absolutely no appeal to 바카라사이트 supernatural".

paul.jump@tsleducation.com.