Hi Ken, 
When I wrote Dangerous Grains, I had an awful time with the editor. She
insisted that I just provide a list of sources for each chapter at the end
of the book, without any anchor numbers or names inserted in the text to
indicate where the information came from. She said that such things
interfered with the reader's "reading flow" whatever that is. So I emailed
Loren Cordain, as I knew he was writing PaleoDiet at the same time. I asked
him if he had had any luck, on the same issue, with his publisher. He had
not. So I gave up arguing with my editor. 

The net result is that when I look for support for a specific idea in Paleo
Diet, I'm forced to read all the source materials for that chapter, rather
than just look at the one study that informed a particular assertion. That's
most frustrating. Thus, while I realize that Dr. Cordain is not responsible
for the situation that has arisen, a thoughtful approach to this topic
requires more than Dr. Cordain's authority. 

I think we are all scientists. We observe the things that happen in our
worlds, we speculate about those observations.  Then, when we think we have
gained some insight, we put our speculations to the test to see whether we
were right. That, in a nutshell, is science - so we are all scientists. Most
of us probably won't achieve at the level Dr. Cordain has, but our
observations and insights are just as meaningful to each of us.  

Now, if you tell me that you were holding a torch while clinging to the neck
of a dead chicken, standing at the crossroads at midnight, chanting to some
obscure deity, and you brought about some natural phenomenon, I'm going to
be skeptical of your methods. Otherwise, I consider your observations as
valid as the next person's, and I'm perfectly prepared to learn from them. 

Best Wishes, 
Ron


-----Original Message-----
From: Paleolithic Eating Support List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Kenneth Anderson
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 10:43 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Another Paleo list?

----
"Ron] Again, do you have an citations to articles that support this? If not,
where are Cordain's data coming from?"
----

Ron, I am not a scientist, I often have to trust the authority of the
person who is giving me the information, in this case, I think the
data you seek it is contained in the bibliography of Cordain's book
"The Paleo Diet."  That's been good enough for me, so far.

Ken