Posted by Scott Ellis (216.87.95.64) on February 07, 2003 at 21:46:39:
In Reply to: Karls payroll posted by David on February 06, 2003 at 17:18:42:
I agree it is important to consider possible conflicts of interest in the Bessler case. If Bessler's wheel was a hoax, it must have been quite an elaborate one... one involving quite a number of people. Such hoaxes certainly do occur, but the more elaborate they are, the more likely they are to be uncovered.
Some might point to the maid's testimony as definitive proof of a conspiracy, but as John Collins so clearly shows in his book, her testimony tends to raise more questions than it answers.
I also agree with John's point, that in those days a lot of people's livelihoods were somehow or another involved with the Landgraf due to the particular social, economic, and political constructs of the time.
One thing I noticed as I looked into Grim's discovery further (by the way, thanks Grim for the great research here) is this: if we are to accuse Wolff of a possible conflict of interest, it appears we must first account for an 8 year gap between the time when he first examined the wheel and commented about its apparent veracity and the time that he officially came under Carl's patronage.
According to the record of his life, Carl did not play a direct role in supporting Wolff until after he was driven from Halle, which was in 1723. According to John Collins' research, Wolff's detailed description of the wheel and his remarks about it's apparent authenticity are recorded in a letter to Leibniz dated Dec. 19, 1715.
excerpt avalailable here.
Food for thought anyway...
-Scott
: Well well well. Thanks grim. Your plot thickens post.
: Isn't this interesting.