Reply #45: There certainly have been cases where people were have been laughed out of town.

[slowry]

I'd like to think such attitudes are far rarer today, though. It doesn't seem likely that a modern day John Harrison, for example, will be patted on the back, mockingly, and forgotten, given the existence of the Internet and other mass communication mediums (not to mention the lessons learned from such histories).

If someone is really onto something, and has evidence to back it up, word will get out much easier, that they aren't complete loons. The corollary to that is that it's painfully obvious when someone is just making shit up, like ORBO. There are no excuses for not making evidence public.

imho.