This poem is based in part on a late night radio discussion related to the SOKAL AFFAIR…a literary hoax perpetrated in 1996, by Alan Sokal, a physics professor at New York University and University College London. He essentially produced a “scholarly” paper, submitted and accepted by a peer review professional journal…that was essentially a total farce, with big words and phrases meaning nothing and saying nothing—and nobody caught it or the joke!—Information via WIKIPEDIA.
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The program on late night radio was on the Buck Sexton Radio program, heard on WTAG, 580 AM AND 94.9 FM..(I-HEART Radio). or at http://bucksexton.com/ Two other men tried a similar stunt…which was similarly unquestioningly received…even by a certain very recent former President.
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Anyway…my opinion of these scholarly attempts to wake people up:
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THE SOKAL EFFECT–WHO WAS FOOLISH?
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Two academics decided,
The SOKAL AFFAIR, to retry it…
They thought the echelon
Would soon catch on,
To the foolish words and not buy it.
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Alas, they were amazed,
When the stupid thing was praised…
No one claimed to see
Its tomfoolery,
And no objections were raised!
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Alas, poor academia,
Write crap–you think it love–
“Goobledegook”
As truth they took,
On which none suspected of…!
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The authors, on Buck Sexton’s show,
Said academia scored very low…
Feeding such junk
To students who sunk
Under such high=priced foolishness—low!
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It troubles me that they tried,
With hopes of opening eyes…
Weren’t they aware
That complicity there,
Had already stagnified?
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Embarrassing people is the same
As a liberal calling bad names…
Same vocabulary–
What eye opening–
Wasting time on trite little games?
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Truth must come by force,
Changing hearts, not playing horse…
Christ had to die
Be sin crucified,
To change a human soul’s course!
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If you sound just like their friend,
Why expect foolishness’ end…
Look act like one
You’re shot before begun,
No matter what you’d intend.
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A dirty joke it was,
A lot of people “buzzed”…
Doesn’t help squat
If the whole lot,
Misses the point of the cause!
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–Jonathan Caswell,
M.S.E.–Biology, 1983
(for whatever good this is!)
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By the Mighty Mumford 