Peter O’Brien
An international scandal has erupted over claims of scientific fraud involving 22 papers linked to James Cook University’s prestigious Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.
Recently, my wife and I had the great pleasure of meeting Dr Peter Ridd and his wife, Cheryl, herself a highly qualified academic. Quadrant readers will be aware of Dr Ridd and his date with destiny at the High Court in June.
I had been told that Peter has always thought of himself as a traditional leftist academic but, if so, he must be a master of disguise because he sounds pretty sound to me. Of course, the reality is that, just as with Warren Mundine and Mark Latham, the traditional Left has left him behind. The things that the Left used to worry about – free speech, equality of opportunity, Australian jobs, academic freedom, and so on – are so passe, and the current fashionable tropes are as much a mystery to Peter Ridd as they are to me. The word ‘crazy’ pops up frequently in his conversation.
Being a mere essayist, I had felt somewhat intimidated at meeting such an eminent and, more importantly, courageous research scientist, however, he immediately put me at ease. Continue reading The Stoic Endurance of Peter Ridd
