“A-Z of Big Data Myths”

"As someone who seems to be embarking on busting myth busters I’d better do my best not to hoist myself by my own petard. And if I do, I hope I can be as forthright and generous as you in thanking the critic." (Sutton 2010) This is an overview of findings made whilst checking Sutton's…

Refutations recently published

Some significant refutations against Sutton et al.’s spread of misinformation have recently been published: Dagg, J. L., & Derry, J. F. (2024). The book of Matthew ‘On naval timber and arboriculture’. Its structure and development. Annals of Science, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2024.2306141 Dagg, Joachim L. and Derry, J.F. (2022) Patrick Matthew's synthesis of catastrophism and transformism. Notes and…

“Popeye, Spinach, Iron”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — The cartoon character, and first American superhero, Popeye ate spinach for its strength providing iron content because his creator was misled by the publication of a widely believed 19th century decimal point error that exaggerated the iron content of…

“Zombie Cop”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — The widely held criminological ‘knowledge’ that foot patrol beat policing is ineffective at either arresting offenders or reducing crime is substantially supported by research conducted by Clarke and Hough (1984), which makes the claim that:‘…a patrolling policeman in London…

“Semmelweis”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — In the 19th Century Ignác Semmelweis solely implemented hand washing practices in hospitals, significantly cutting the death rate from childbed fever among mothers there to give birth. His failure to influence the medical community to take up this hygienic…

“Humpty Dumpty”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM The Humpty Dumpty Myth. dysology.blogspot.com Nov. 29, 2013 TEST Humpty Dumpty and Punchinello have documented histories that do not coincide. There is an allusion only (“like”), to a similar body type, in Suton's offered poem, “Beau Humpty-dumpty next appears / A…

“You Are What You Eat”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — According to Cryer, M.(2010) ‘Who Said that First?’ Chichester. Summerdale page 419: The entry into the English language of the phrase ‘you are what you eat’ originated in the Bridgeport Telegraph 1923 by way of an advertisement that informed…

“X Marks the Spot”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — According to Rees, N. (1996) Cassell’s Dictionary of word and phrase origins, at page 271: ‘The actual phrase ‘x marks the spot’ appears to have originated from Chicago newspapers in the early days of gangsterism.’ Fact — The phrase…

“What Works”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Disseminated by a UK Government Briefing paper on the topic: ‘The term “what works” was first coined in 1974, when Robert Martinson argued that “education at its best, or … psychotherapy at its best, cannot overcome, or even appreciably…

“Virtual / Artificial Reality”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — “The term "artificial reality", coined by Myron Krueger, has been in use since the 1970s; however, the origin of the term "virtual reality" can be traced back to the French playwright, poet, actor, and director Antonin Artaud. In his…

“Underdog”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Story to date: David Barker, a famous freemason, allegedly invented the metaphorical concept of humans as underling dogs in a popular poem which, according to legend, he wrote in 1859 and had published in various newspapers. To date, no…

“Thick As Thieves”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — The phrase ‘thick as thieves’ was coined by Theodore Hook (1833) in his book ‘The Parson's Daughter’ where he famously wrote: "She and my wife are thick as thieves.’’ Fact — Hook never coined the phrase. Because it can…

“Rocket Science”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — The phrase ‘rocket science’ was coined by Alfres[sic] Zaehringer in 1947. Fact — The exact phrase and contemporary meaning of ‘rocket science’ was anonymously published 15 years earlier in Popular Mechanics (1932) March. Page 464. TEST Sutton offers a…

“Quiz”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Several weird myths exist about this word, but the closest to reality is that ‘quiz’ entered the English language literature in 1781. Fact — The word quiz appeared two years earlier in Kelham, R. (1779) A dictionary of the…

“One Medicine”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Veterinary epidemiologist and parasitologist, Dr. Calvin W. Schwabe, of the University of California, coined the phrase ‘One Medicine’ in the 1960s, to promote the idea of unifying medical and veterinary medical approaches to tackle zoonotic diseases. Fact — The…

“Not Rocket Science”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — The Phrase ‘not rocket science’ was coined in the Pennsylvania newspaper The Daily Intelligencer in December 1985. Fact — The phrase ‘not rocket science’ can be found in the literature at least eight years earlier. See: Fain, T. G;…

“Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Sir Water Scott in (1824), was the first to convert Chaucer’s 1374 advice that “It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake" to the modern phrase ’let sleeping dogs lie’ Fact — The Phrase was published six years…

“Know Your Onions”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — There are two myths associated with the phrase to ‘know your onions’: (1) that it stems from the reputation of Oxford Dictionary expert C. T. Onions, and was coined in the 1930s (2) that it stems from an American…

“Jerry Built”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — The phrases: ‘jerry houses,’ ‘jerry-builder’, ‘jerry built’, first emerged in 1869, but their etymological root remains unknown. Discussion — I conducted some extensive ID research on the etymological roots of this idiom, which produced some quite fascinating findings that…

“Ivory Tower”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Ivory Tower was first used as a phrase in the 1837 work of the French poet Charles Augustin Saint-Beuve in his poem “Thoughts of August”, making its first appearance in the English language in 1911. Fact — The phrase…

“Global Village”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — American media and communications expert, Marshall McLuhan, coined the phrase ‘global village’ in 1962. Fact — The phrase was used at least 16 years earlier to describe the exact same concept. See: Stuart, F. S. and Biard, H. C.…

“Founding Fathers”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — U.S.A. Republican Senator Warren G. Harding, coined the phrase ‘Founding Fathers’ in his keynote address to the 1916 Republican National Convention. Fact — Harding never coined it. The phrase, albeit with a different meaning, dates back to at least…

“Etymology”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Weirdly, no dictionary of etymology appears to have examined the first use of the word etymology. Fact — The word etymology can be found as least as far back as 1607: Cowell, J, (1607) The Interpreter, Or, Booke Containing…

“Natural Selection”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Charles Darwin coined the term ‘natural selection’ Fact — Darwin never coined it. The term ‘natural selection’ was used at least three years before Darwin was born. See: Preston, W. (1803) The Argonautics of Apollonius Rhodius, Translated into English…

“Cyberspace”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — It is universally accepted that the science fiction writer William Gibson invented the word cyberspace in a story called Burning Chrome – its use was expanded in Neuromancer in 1984. This is indeed correct. Fact — The little known…

“Automobile”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — The word automobile entered the English language in the New York Times on January 3rd 1899. Fact — The word automobile entered the English language at least six years earlier than currently believed. In 1893 the word was used…

“Hello”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myths – There are currently three myths associated with the word ‘hello’. Namely (1) Edison coined the word in 1878; (2) that it first occurred in print in 1833; (3) that ‘hello’ was not used as a greeting until after Edison…

“Bermuda Triangle”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM src: https://dysology.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-bermuda-triangle.html TEST This is another example of Sutton's inability to interpret in context. This is the paragraph from the book by Harrison, within a section on the Bermuda Triangle (p.195), Sutton is uninformed about the history of the Bermuda Triangle…

“Brexit #AlreadyNotHappening”

Despite every indication to the contrary, ever since the referendum, Sutton has been repeating his mantra that Brexit is #AlreadyNotHappening As a "remainer" myself, I wish it were so, but I'm not so uninformed to think it was ever not going to happen; there's far too much money at stake, invested by the people whom…

“Moral Panic”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth: The phrase and sociological concept of moral panic, as used first by Jock Young and then Stan Cohen, emerged from the British National Deviancy Conference of 1968. Fact: Neither Young nor Cohen (not even Marshall McLuhan, as some slightly more…

Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal

Claim: Robert Chambers read Matthew’s book, On Naval Timber Finding: Highly unlikely and unproven. Conclusion: Fabrication. Sutton contends that Robert Chambers read Matthew’s book, On Naval Timber, because he claims the Chambers'Edinburgh Journal cited it in 1832 (Vol. 1, No. 8, March 24, p.63). Indeed it is vital to Sutton's entire claim of Darwin's plagiarism:…

“Darwin Despised Chartists”

Claim: "Darwin despised Chartists" Finding: False. Probably the opposite. Conclusion: Fabrication. Sutton tweeted (10:28 AM - Jul 29, 2016), "Patrick Matthew, from whom Darwin plagiarized natural selection, was a Chartist leader. Darwin despised Chartists" and linked to a Google Books page for London: A Cultural History by Richard Tames. The book page claims Darwin was motivated…

Comparing the Respective Transmutation Mechanisms of Patrick Matthew, Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace

Please note that there is a rebuttal published in The Journal of the Linnean Society. Sutton has responded, but irrelevantly. He has not countered the mechanistic reasons that establish Darwin and Wallace did not copy from Matthew. Sutton continues to act dishonestly, not engaging with academic debate, He claims that he has been, "advised officially…

“Famous Naturalist Botanist John Loudon”

Sutton is claiming,  that John Claudius Loudon was a naturalistand Darwin would have considered him as one Evidence to the contrary shows, John Claudius Loudon was not a naturalist, was never referred to as one, by anyone, including his wife and himself, despite Jane Loudon né Webb writing books with such titles as,  “The Young…

“Matthew Discovered Natural Selection”

Fundamental to Sutton's claim that Darwin stole from Matthew, is that the Scottish naturalist had cracked the species question twenty-eight years before Darwin provided the same solution, namely, natural selection. Natural selection as a mechanism for removing the less able in the "struggle for survival", was already known about and has appeared variously in print…

Public Abuse

A selection of the seemingly never ending public abuse myself and colleagues have received from Sutton. click to enlarge

Perthshire Visionary

Warned that Sutton is mistaken since February 2016, when he first presented his claims to them, the Carse of Gowrie Sustainability Group chose to pursue financial backing for their heritage project, rather than get the history correct. click to enlarge

Concordat to Support Research Integrity

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has been receiving evidence on a range on subjects from AI to vaping. There have been six to date. The area of most interest to me has been the subject of the next imminent report, resulting from the hearings and consultations on Research Integrity. Recent announcements have heralded…

“William Jameson Cited Matthew”

Other than the tedium of having to check everything Sutton does, and invariably finding it at fault (it really is astonishing how consistently awful he is), there's the added annoyance of putting one of these mini-reports together, looking at the relevant page on one of his many blogs, and before I've had the chance to…

“That Made Them the Same Species”

Here, once again, Sutton displays his ignorance about evolution, specifically hybridisation, yet his NTU staff page claims that he has "Press expertise" in relevant subjects: "Organic evolution"[sic], Darwinism, Matthewism[sic]. Sutton has already demonstrated that he has falsified evidence about hybridisation, which is not an encouraging indication of his abilities. What is more, the credibility of his…

RIP Dr L John F Ashdown-Hill. MBE, FSA, FRHistS

Between them, Sutton and Nottingham Trent University (NTU) have managed to upset quite a lot of people, including John Ashdown-Hill, a renowned scholar of Plantagenet history and central in the rediscovery of Richard III. Ashdown-Hill certainly did not deserve the harsh dealing he got from Sutton through his aggressive vituperation, and NTU through their neglect…

Theory of Mind

The most difficult thing, I think, in being a musician is to get out of the way. JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, JAZZ GUITARIST Assigning words with teleological meaning, as a distinct construct independent of language, is obviously a fool’s game, and fails upon the first encounter with a homonym (see ASIDES on ENGLISH and GRAMMAR). The same…

“Supermyth”

Sutton makes many claims about other people have stolen "prior published" phrases and concepts: for example, "moral panic", "natural Selection", "self fulfilling prophecy", etc, etc, etc. He is mistaken, because he doesn't know the meaning of "to coin". Not only is he wrong in his accusations, he is also a hypocrite, because, by the same…

“Person has been Fired”

Today I thought Sutton was going to engage in debate. How foolish of me. I responded to his usual hijacking of an (atrocious) article on Darwin, one of those listicles, where research is not high on anyone's list of priorities. Sutton replied with his usual invective, then after a little back and forth, seemed to…

Heritage Lottery Fund

I suspect that Sutton, and his message of Matthew's claim to fame, suggested a way to "sex up" the Carsonians' previously failed application to win Heritage Lottery Funding. Their reapplication was successful in being awarded £10,000 notably only after incorporating Sutton's claims into their proposal. This, Sutton asserted was the factor that swung the decision.…

To Coin

It is worth noting that this particular example is one of the most far-reaching and significant of Sutton's mistakes. If there is only one article you read on this website, please make it this one. The correct definition of the word, to "coin", is given in the Cambridge Dictionary as, “coin” verb (INVENT) : [Transitive] to…

Natural Selection Concepts

Following on from a previous post on natural selection, where syntactical reasons were given for why Sutton is wrong about Darwin stealing from Matthew, here are some relevancies on semantics, to explain the historical and biological context and see how wrong Sutton is in his claims of plagiarism. In his A-Z of Mythbusting, Sutton writes,…

“Living Fossil”

Claim: Darwin did not coin the term "living fossil" Finding: the reference is to living mussels found in Wales Conclusion: Sutton & Griffiths (2018) is wrong. SUTTON SAYS: Living Fossil Myth: Darwin Cult Anti-Welsh Wikipedia? According to anybody's concept of a living fossil, the idea is that an ancient (genetic) lineage is captured / encapsulated…

“Four-Word-Shuffle”

Sutton makes a big deal over the similarity between Matthew's naming of the "natural process of selection" and Darwin's "natural selection", but there are no grounds to his claims of plagiarism. Why? Read on. Sutton makes a big deal over the similarity between Matthew's naming of the "natural process of selection" and Darwin's "natural selection",…

“Bootleg”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Without a single reference to support the claim, all of the major dictionaries and etymology textbooks assert confidently that the words bootleg, bootlegging and bootlegger all stem from the past practice of illegal alcohol peddlers concealing their product inside their boots.…

“Halloween”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — At the time of writing, Wikipedia and seemingly countless other websites vaguely have it that the earliest known usage of the word is "about 1745". The Online Etymology Dictionary makes the same conveniently vague claim, as does the mighty…

“Peace Corps”

Digging about on his blog tells us more about how Sutton got started ... as if we wanted to know. I began my research on this issue by using ID to search whether or not the term "peace corps" was coined before 1839, the date when Matthew's second book, Emigration Fields, was published. If Matthew…

“Replicator”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Sutton 2014. Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin and Selfish Replicator DNA Exposed!, TEST Sutton claims Richard Dawkins plagiarised the term and concept, "replicator", for use in the Selfish Gene. As evidence, Sutton offers two references, Netter, F. H. (1948) The Ciba collection of medical…

“Selfish Gene”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Myth — Despite a mutual embarrassment of seemingly endless science websites, scholarly books and peer reviewed journal articles all confidently asserting that Richard Dawkins coined the phrase selfish gene and is therefore the originator of the basic concept ... my unique deployment of…

“Dreamscape”

Another example of Sutton's banality and incompetence. This one, I just don't understand how someone can reach their position, as a responsible member of teaching staff, yet be fundamentally challenged by basic and obvious language. The 'Dreamscape' Myth Debunked Wednesday, 20 December 2017 Other than the vacuous gloating in the title of "Debunking the 'Dreamscape'…

Open Letter #2 (June 2017)

Over the course of the year or so following my initial contact with the Carse of Gowrie Sustainability Group (the "Carsonians"), Sutton continued to publish falsehoods relating to Matthew. Assuming that they would appreciate, even be grateful, for being made aware of the faults undermining Sutton's work, I had written to their chairperson either directly,…

Open Letter #1 (March 2016)

An open letter addressing the Carse of Gowrie Sustainability Group (the "Carsonians") who I had just heard were to host a public talk by Sutton on Patrick Matthew. I had been looking at his work on same, for only a month or so, and already had enough accumulated evidence to demonstrate how flawed and fallacious…

“Asteroid”

Sutton is determined not to get a single thing correct, or at least not "100% proven", shall we say? Yes, let's, because, without fail, every single check of his damnable poor & lazy research that myself, and colleagues, and ANYONE WHO CAN BE HALF BOTHERED, has revealed it as an inaccurate, spurious pile of crap. I make…

English

A word of sympathy for English users for whom it is not their first language. The British are not famous for learning other languages, and rely to some extent on the rest of the world accommodating their reticence. In that respect, the British have been aware for a very long time that English is not…

“Self-fulfilling Prophecy”

CLAIM Myth — The famous sociologist, Robert Merton, coined the phrase ‘self fulfilling prophecy’ in 1949. Fact — Merton’s own first published use of the phrase was actually 1948. But he never did coin it, because ‘self fulfilling prophecy’ can be found in the literature 107 years earlier. See: Fraser's magazine for town and country…

Language #5

A continued exploration of the question, "What is language?" The previous post looked at some cultural aspects of language, the way it can be honed to convey powerful emotions and deep thinking, from one person to another, and how our capacity for that is established within our first six years. This has to be one…

Language #4

A continued exploration of the question, "What is language?" The previous post looked at alternative human communication using symbolic gestures, and wondered whether all language symbols, words included, act as reminders of association. We are born with the ability to remember and retrieve information. It's a good evolutionary idea, to remember where to get food…

Language #3

A continued exploration of the question, "What is language?" The previous post looked at communication in another animal, and wondered what would be needed to step over the species barrier. Let's turn to communication breakdowns within our own. The internationally recognised gesticulation for “May I have the bill, please", is to ensure you 'have the…

Language #2

A continued exploration of the question, "What is language?" The previous post looked at how one might define a language, what one comprises, and some quirky properties of English that demonstrate that, in some way, languages reach beyond the grand total of simply combining their constituents. Such phenomena are examples of emergence,  encapsulated by the idiom, "The…

Language #1

The following five short articles arose directly out of being invited to submit an answer to MetaFact on the question, "Is language unique to humans?" Before being able to address the question it is firstly necessary to define, "What is language". This is a huge question that touches upon everything it is to be human,…

Mark Griffiths’ Citations

The all-new, singing, dancing, Big Data doesn't provide the huge chunks of unadulterated data that some like to think it does. Various sources of error, some particular to each database, and data format, contribute to compromises to data integrity, and consequently sample sizes, making them very much less that the 'n=all' mantra emerging from ignorance…

Matthew’s Faith

While most of Sutton's mistakes are mundane in the extreme, there are some interesting philosophical aspects that can be considered alongside. These largely relate to language, communication and epistemology, but some, such as this, do delve into other philosophies, and will be included intermittently under the ⌘ symbol. Matthews' writings contain enough indications of his having…

Insults

The ad hominem attacks have been tedious and at times relentless. It seems Sutton is unable to make a strong critical statement on subject matter alone, without arming it with an offhand insult, or scathing slap down. It is not the way to engage in debate. It is not the behaviour expected of a supposed…

Logic & Science

There is a small set of patterns by which Sutton has made a mess of every piece of research he has attempted since 2013, of which this blog is only a representative collection of examples of his mistakes, and his wild hypothesising. An inventory of this set should result having investigated the majority of these cases, and that…

Google Books #2

In a previous post, we saw the statistical and mathematical reasons why Big Data is unlikely to give the comprehensive data coverage and complete accuracy that many commentators seem to be claiming for the future. Here we return to the mundanity of Sutton's mistakes, and the reasons why, even if he did have a complete…

Google Books #1

Today's Sutton hypothesis is that Big Data is changing everything because, "For years we have relied upon sampling to reduce the cost of knowing what is happening/happened. But today that is changing ... research employing N = all ...". I doubt that, very much. Sutton is unscientific and unthinking; his overblown confidence in his capabilities is…

Correspondence Theory

What is left, if the empirical relation between observation and reality is eroded by misinterpretation, publication, education and indoctrination? Take a moment to think that through. Sutton misinterprets an observation, such as the publication date of a book in Google Books (as he frequently does, e.g., when searching for pale ale), but because he does…

“Political Honeymoon”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Twitter is a wonderful tool. Over the weekend my colleague Dr Andrew Wilson used it to ask if I could help him determine the earliest discoverable to date (September 2016) published use of the phrase "political honeymoon". The Oxford English Dictionary…

“Google”

UPDATE 26-Jan 2018: Sorting out some screenshots, I stumbled across three images I had been keeping safe for this post. These additional sources are inserted towards the top of the date-ordered list that follows the short introduction below this header. They all predate Sutton's earliest claim for this "myth bust" of 1903, being, as they…

Abusive Behaviour

Why does Sutton, a supposed professional academic, consider his actions are appropriate when challenged? The generally accepted principle of discussion between academics (and anyone really), is that debates are conducted without resorting to ad hominem. Obviously sides will differ, but the point of intellectual argument is to win the opposition over to your viewpoint, or…

“Flowers Might Just Be Objectively Beautiful”

If you're looking for a quick giggle and know an iota about genetics, then Sutton has very kindly obliged with his madcap idea, that humans like flowers because we have some shared genetics (homologous genes) with angiosperms. https://twitter.com/Criminotweet/status/991264697457528832 The linked page in that tweet is a blog post from May 2014, (the oxymoronically named BestThinking…

“Pale Ale”

While relatively trivial, compared to Sutton claiming 150 years of conspiracy that has silenced any challenges to Darwin's esteemed reputation, this is just another mistake in a seemingly endless list of mistakes made by Sutton on general subjects and in his defamation of Darwin and Wallace and evolutionary scientists and historians. But, it's worth taking…

“Matthew’s Great Analogy”

As with all the posts on this and the other associated websites, the entries at PubPeer, and the notice at RetractionWatch, this article is another contribution towards establishing the case for retraction of Sutton's publications. This particular example is one of Sutton's major claims, and has as much basis in truth, as all the others.…

Hypotheses

Sutton is something of an ideas man, tossing them out at an alarming rate, which tells you of course that they are worthless. His idea of scholarly endeavour seems to be to make up new names with no foundation in empiricism or logic. The precision and thought, and research and preliminary testing required to construct a valid…

“Cook Mentions Darwin Many Times”

For Sutton's assertion about Darwin having actually seen a copy of Matthew's 1831 book, before putting pen to paper, to write his early sketches of evolutionary theory in 1837, 1842 and 1844, he made a huge leap of guesswork to claim that part of the Beagle's mission was to locate sources of naval timber. Sutton…

“I Felt Sorry for Him”

Sutton has responded to a reply made on the Times Higher Education website. Hopefully this is indicative of a change of heart, and an acceptance of responsibility as an ethical academic - he first was commenting on the essay published on that page. (Links within the images are provided below). UPDATE 22-Aug 2018: I still…

“Cited in China”

Sutton is keeping a record of literature purported to be citing his publications. As with everything that he does, you're advised to check his claims thoroughly. Sutton includes on his list of mentions, a recent paper written in Chinese script (about which I must plead ignorance) and published in a Chinese journal. He also announced this via Twitter…

Professional Misconduct

Here is an example of Sutton's activities for which he ought to have been disciplined for professional misconduct. Where behaviour is found inappropriate for an academic's professional status, both employers and professional bodies representing their discipline, are expected to act ethically by moderating poor behaviour, in their own interests, to protect reputations, and in the…

Fitzroy’s Captain’s Log

Sutton should pay more attention to his own book's title. Nullius in Verba ~ "on the word of no one" or "Take nobody's word for it" https://twitter.com/Criminotweet/status/962832483250294784 Perhaps if Sutton is going to make strong assertions about written material, he ought to take the time to read it first. A notable failing because of his…

The Phrase is the Concept

One of Sutton's earlier myth busts is a fine example to put you in the frame of mind, of what to expect, as we work through the very many other instances in his canon, and there are very many more. Even so, there is a set of recurring mistakes made that disqualifies almost every attempt to get into the relatively recent sport of myth busting, the sort of thing you can see on QI, when Alan sets off another klaxon as he puts his foot straight into another Elf-baited contestant trap. 

Purple Prose

Very simply, Sutton is prone to arm waving and seeing mysterious similarities in late Georgian, early Victorian natural history texts. Remember the reason for studying nature at all in those early days? Before some scientific rigour arrived with Darwin's era and scientific naturalism, the natural world was a holy canvas. God's work manifest. So, appreciating…

“Any Reasonable Person”

This is another post in the ongoing series, where we wonder what Sutton is playing at by associating himself so closely and seemingly without discernment with creationists and in particular, intelligent design advocates. Sutton has repeatedly claimed that his paper in the online Polish journal, Philosophical Aspects of Genesis, is not a vehicle for intelligent…

Personation

Now, call me an old style sceptic, but, when I see an effusive review, I usually suspect some ulterior motive. Private Eye magazine does a lovely feature every Christmas that they call Log Rolling -- it's not a new name, being derived from the co-operative team of a couple of loggers, running felled trunks downriver,…

“Only Supposition and Conjecture”

Sutton gets a well-deserved roasting here on the Rational Skeptics forum - renowned as one of the best places on the web for good scientific thinking. His usual style of dumping a mass of unevidenced conjectures into a big pot was rebutted immediately, and he was sent off to try again. He only returned once…

“Gandhi’s Four Stages”

Just another example of Sutton’s ignorance and incapacity. It would be funny if not tragic. I would have thought anyone of a certain age, would have seen the feature film Gandhi. If not then, being such a huge figure in World history, and surely an inspiration for endurance and strength of mind and body, isn't it…

“Social Housing”

This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM The OED (5th September 2016) has it: "1928 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 140 291 Outstanding social housing experiments are the Schmidlapp houses in Cincinnati, [etc.]." The ID method (see my book Nullius for an easy step by step…

BestThinking

Sutton is busy taking swipes at the people who run The Internet Archive so I thought I'd give him something else to think about. I wasn't in a particularly good mood, having just learned of the death of an ex-colleague, and someone a million times better at research than Sutton. This is addressed to Sutton…

“Tended to Eat Alone”

I'm finding it impossible to keep up with Sutton's production rate of misinformation. His output is volumous, and repeatedly, none of it is of any value. Posts will appear whenever possible. Meanwhile, bon appetit ! Recurrent Themes, the Patrick Matthew Project https://patrickmatthewproject.wordpress.com/opinions/matthewsian-themes/ Only references to eating alone, and dinner, that I can find is in…

The Social Science Myth

I have been thinking about how to illustrate how mistaken is Sutton's comprehension of language and particularly, developments in nomenclature. He certainly has a fundamental problem with what it means to coin a word or expression, and has often claimed a previous instance of the same word or phrase "disconfirms" the official history. To date,…

“Many Weird Criticisms”

In which Sutton fails to appreciate the value of precision tools. Click image to enlarge If you are a criminologist or other sociologist (perhaps best not call yourselves social scientists after all), and find yourself angered by what you see here, then please don't shoot the messenger, although please do leave a comment below. I…

“Recently Discovered”

Sutton has insulted more than just fellow academics who do not agree with him. He has also slighted the very archivists with whom he should have been corresponding to access the wealth of information in safe keeping relating to Patrick Matthew, his family, business interests and partners, friends and associates, etc. They remember Jim Dempster…

“When Lyell Followed Matthew”

When someone makes an honest mistake, it's possible to forgive them for the slip up. When someone repeatedly, blatantly falsifies the literature to perpetuate falsehoods that have subsequently resulted in those lies being told to Scottish primary school children, public meetings and local heritage enthusiasts, with the added impact of involving those people in fraudulently…

PJMedia

A recent post to this website collected together some examples of Sutton's odd behaviour as a supposed self-proclaimed atheist of 40 years standing (someone should point out the pews, that's what they're there for). The reason for doing so has nothing to do with faiths nor personal beliefs. As long as people are free to…

“Gene Pool”

  This is part of a series checking Sutton’s claims regarding his “myth busting” CLAIM Notes, Sutton 2014 Nullius in Verba. Thinker Media Inc. TEST This is a typical error by Sutton. Because he seems to never check his work, he cites a typo, "Gene Pool", when it should actually read the boy character's name, "Gene Poole". …

“Essay Mills”

Listening to BBC Radio 4 the other morning as I mostly do, while forcing myself into wakefulness, squinting at the daylight cutting the curtains (Mrs Ogmore Pritchard: And before you let the sun in, mind he wipes his shoes), and awaiting the pit of anguish that is Thought for the Day (how about some areligious…

“Escaping Atheism”

Sutton is the strangest atheist I've ever encountered. One so blinkered that he repeatedly plays into the hands of creationists and other faiths, to the inevitable detriment of science. Remember, he's the one claiming to be a scientist (he most certainly is not), but then goes and does stuff that no decent, rational person would.…

“Proof of Concept”

Sutton is so desperate to give the impression that he's a success, and people are taking notice of what he's doing, one of the means that he can manipulate to give that false impression, and literally keep his finger on, is the hit counter, on the page hosting one of his papers. He claims it's…

“Problem of Multiple Coincidences”

In Being There, Peter Sellers plays the part of Chance in Hal Ashby's adaptation of Jerzy Kosiński's book. Both book and movie are brilliant and come highly recommended. Sellers spent a long time trying to persuade Hollywood to touch the story, feeling a compulsion to play the part like no other in his life. He…

“Devoid of Many Pages”

ANMH's David Kohn is leading a conservation project to restore the tens of thousands of paper fragments resulting from Darwin's way of working - cutting up his notes and reordering them into themes, as ideas occurred to him. To the ignorant critic suspecting underhand dealings (such as Sutton), Darwin's tearing up of notes occurs to…

Coincidence #3: Chance and Happenstance

The world is so unpredictable. Things happen suddenly, unexpectedly. We want to feel we are in control of our own existence. In some ways we are, in some ways we're not. We are ruled by the forces of chance and coincidence. attr. Paul Auster (Criminal Minds, s.11 ep.2) It is vital, fundamental even, to pose…

Coincidence #2 : Facing Nor Truth

The story goes that over 1770-71, Hume was living in the Old Town of Edinburgh while supervising the construction of his new house in New Town. The North Bridge was not yet open, so he had to take a short cut across the bog left by Nor' Loch after that foul body of water had…

Coincidence #1 : Aligning Your Scientific Mind

When you test something to see the probability that it exists, you are trying to discover the difference between that phenomenon turning up by chance, and it existing because it has been caused by a factor, or a set of factors. To know that something is a real effect, you want proof, right? The essence…

Science

Modern day Science is the result of 4,000 years of attempting to make sense out of the universe. This has followed a tortuous and punctuated history, but it is safe to say, developments over that time have had the net effect of producing a highly perceptive approach to separate fact from fiction. Here are some…

Scientific Enquiry

There's a very specific way to ask questions in science. Getting it wrong is the difference between, catching a fly between chopsticks with a flick of the wrist, and screaming into an abyss of ignorance whilst blindly spraying buckshot at hallucinatory bats. CONTEXT Let's not get too bogged down in this very important philosophical issue…

Matthew’s Mechanism

Darwin famously moved from deduction in his early evolutionary sketches to induction, to work from minuscule observations, for example, the interaction of species within a quadrat in his garden, scaled up to territorial, continental and global dimensions. He also scaled time, knowing that his gradualist understanding of natural dynamics would require unimaginable aeons to bring…

Misinformation

We are undoubtedly more aware of the perpetuation of misinformation in current times. Politicians have always been sparing with accurate detail, but either there is more coverage and opinion being broadcast, or there really is more unashamed distortion of the truth. In recent years science has also come under scrutiny for irregularities in research practise.…

Types of Misconduct

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT and PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT are the two main types that academics can be charged with, and can subsequently be handled within the education system, without resort to external legal agency: although depending upon the nature of the fraud and behaviour of the miscreant, cases may be referred for consideration by law enforcement. ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY Nottingham Trent…

“Darwin’s Secret”

Another lesson in gullibility. Dear Ricky Gee, Amazon I am really very concerned about the standard of enquiry being demonstrated at NTU. Is loyalty to a colleague more important than your own reputation, or are you simply happy to leave whether Sutton is correct, or not, to trust? The only reasons I can imagine for…

“Pseudoscientist”

There is a real sense that Sutton is beginning to feel his position within academia mightn't be as safe a sanctuary as he first thought. Surrounded by intellectuals, he must have felt like a pretender for some time, tucked away within the ivory walls of his twisted tower. Now Natural Histories, Patrick Matthew Project (PMP),…

“Scotland’s Grassroots Campaign”

It's outlandish what Sutton claims m̶̷̸o̶̷̸s̶̷̸t̶̷̸ all of the time. Here, evidently, the Scottish tourist industry, much in need of a boost (estimated £11bn p.a.), is to benefit directly from his contribution. Sutton should enter the Highland Games. He's sure to win at tossing the caber. This is my third decade of living in Scotland.…

Nottingham Trent University

This website is intended to raise awareness of a particular case of a misguided academic, Sutton, who has combined an astonishing ineptitude for careful, precise research of science history, with a lust for fame and recognition. The toxic result is a string of highly dubious publications and public talks, by which Sutton is spreading misinformation…

Amazon Sockpuppetry

The first edition of Sutton's ebook managed to score five 5-star reviews. All that says to me is that there are five identifiable people who are, biased through loyalty to Sutton and his message, are fickle and easily led in the extreme, and just don't care. Or perhaps, the numbers can be deceptive. I don't trust Sutton,…

“A Body of Research”

This is a response I left to another positive review for Sutton's book, 2nd edition. I am extremely concerned about the standard of academia among criminologists, if Sutton is held high as an exemplary researcher. I strongly urge Ed to actually follow Sutton's suggestion and not to take his nor my word for it. Please…

“Academic Freedom”

Sutton has the standard disclaimers on his blogs that he must think disconnects him from implicating his employer, Nottingham Trent University (NTU), in his Google Books projects. He will also be under the impression that he has sanctuary shielding behind his university's declaration for freedom of speech. Neither case would be upheld in a court…

“The Athenæum”

Sutton writes the oddest 'screenplay' about notable Victorian gentlemen meeting in the shady corners of the Athenæum Club, London, conspiring to spite Matthew with the coronation of Darwin as their evolutionary monarch. I don't know where Sutton gets his information. I think most of it comes from an overactive imagination, seeded by some unreliable source.…

“Loudon was a Great Friend”

This example of falsification focuses on a critical connection in Sutton’s information transfer chain (supposedly conveying natural selection from Matthew to Darwin, but as yet unproved). Devoid of any valid evidence, he is forced to press for complexity until we are presented with a spaghetti junction of possibly's and more likely than not's. For all…

“Swathes of Text”

swathe sweɪð noun a broad strip or area of something. "vast swathes of countryside" a row or line of grass, corn, or other crop as it falls or lies when mown or reaped. This is one of Sutton’s weakest claims (quite an achievement, considering the others), Matthew's ideas were not buried solely in the appendix of his…

“Natural Process of Selection”

Here is an extreme example of confirmation bias, by a true master practitioner of the art, Sutton. The point he wishes to make is that Darwin must have stolen Matthew's idea for natural selection because he also stole the name, by "shuffling" Matthew's term, "natural process of selection" Sutton (2014)[1] If Darwin was to have…

“Internet Date Detection”

Scepticism has become "cool", but identifying yourself as a sceptic does not automatically qualify you as a scientist. A vital aspect of science (it doesn't need a "proper" or "real" before it, it just is or isn't), is training yourself to think scientifically. That includes scepticism, but within a framework of enquiry mediated throughout with…

Polish Intelligent Design

Sutton originally called the chapter of his 2014 ebook [1] in which he introduced his method, Internet Date-Detection, or the ID Research Method, initially abbreviated as ID. This mysteriously changed to IDD, shortly after it was pointed out to him that he had ignorantly published in a Polish journal displaying sympathies for intelligent design (a.k.a.,…

“Independently Verifiable”

I've never seen a reputable expert invite readers to buy their book, so that they can "make up their own minds" about a contentious subject. If they know their work was approached correctly, applying the appropriate methodology and analysis, then they can relax, confident in the exacting rigour of scientific enquiry. They will not have…

“Challenging the Assumption of Authenticity”

Sutton's fleeting approach is so very dishonest, where he doesn't dwell and cogitate ideas, instead just throwing everything at a target, hoping something will stick, or that the weight of it all will cause the intended collapse. It might make it exciting for someone who cannot be bothered to doubt what they’re reading, but please,…

Research Integrity

Nottingham Trent University (NTU) are particular about the details of misconduct by staff and students carrying out research (reproduced from the NTU Code of Practice for Research [1], below). This is exemplary and ought to be the standard within higher education. Notably, these standards extend to the response by NTU, to investigating allegations. Unfortunately, this…