Paul Bryant

Sociologist

Lawrence, Kansas

2 November 2000

Marc Brodsky (via e-mail)

CEO and Executive Director

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse

College Park, Maryland 20740

Dear Mr. Brodsky:

As an enthusiastic reader of Jeff Schmidt's book, Disciplined Minds, I wish to thank you for verifying in practice the theoretical premise of that book by firing Schmidt as quickly upon its publication as you did. Despite the academy's successful manipulation of contemporary minds regarding the purpose and integrity of academia, repressive actions such as yours have historically assured that the greatest minds among us receive the legacy of praise they deserve, while those who devote their limited time on earth to hindering progressive thinking receive the scornful obscurity they have so rightfully earned. (No one remembers the names of those who sentenced Socrates to death, Galileo to excommunication or Thoreau to jail. But everyone remembers the names Socrates, Galileo and Thoreau!)

Dr. Schmidt may disagree with me (I've never communicated with the man), and I have no desire to further damage his family's livelihood as your action has, but I for one hope you do not hire him back, so that he may devote himself full-time to exposing the ridiculously tragic illusion modern academia has manufactured, to our generation's ultimate humiliation. Long after the arrogant, pretentious articles in Physics Today and other academic journals are reduced to museum relics of a time when The Peter Principle dominated society, Disciplined Minds will rank among the greatest extant sociological studies of an era in which pointless politics flourished and human purpose nearly became extinct.

Sincerely,

Paul Bryant