Wednesday, September 26, 2012

More Tips on Writing a Bad Crackpot Paper

Continued from a previous post...
  • Don't worry about being able to understand what you're writing. The point of a paper isn't to figure it all out (especially the maths and the experimental verification, which of course can be left to someone else to contribute), but to explain things as you see them, so that some other "smart" scientist is able to figure out if you're right or not. It is best to use as many obscure technical words as you can, which increases the chance that the paper will inspire in someone an idea of what you might be talking about. Also, those who can't make sense of your technical jargon will nevertheless be impressed by it, and will commit themselves to putting in the extra time needed to figure it out. Essentially, if you think your theory might have anything to do with some words that you've heard before, use those words, and hopefully someone will see how you might be right. Eg. "Unified Theory of Quantum Super-symmetry" sounds excellent.
  • If you can't explain it concisely, then explain it repetitively. If this were easy to explain, it wouldn't be a work of genius, now would it!? If an explanation doesn't come out right the first time, keep adding to it. Try different wording, too. If you try to convey the same idea many times, eventually it's going to make sense to someone.
  • It's okay to be vague. Intelligent readers can fill in the details themselves (again, applies to maths, specific results, etc.).