Yannick Clément, in an email, writes:
I have found an ancient quote from Ray Rogers that is incredible and says a lot about the high level of scientific honesty of that man !!!
This particular quotes comes from one section of a book written in 1999 by Bernard Ruffin about the Shroud that is entitled “Shroud of Turin: Up to date analysis of all the facts Regarding the Church’s Controversial Relic”.
Here’s the part of that book where we can find this awesome quote from Rogers: “In 1978, Ray Rogers of STURP was quoted in the Los Alamos Monitor: “I am forced to conclude that the image was formed by a burst of radiant energy –light if you will.”
Were you aware of this? Don’t you think like me that this is an extraordinary historical finding? This quote sounds pretty much like Jackson’s hypothesis, don’t you think? J For me, that particular quote (unfortunately, I don’t know if Rogers said that before or after the team went to Turin, but I think it was before) is one more proof that he was honest enough as a scientist to change his mind drastically on some issues if NEW CONTRADICTORY FACTS AND/OR OBSERVATIONS were coming his way!
In reality, this is the 4th important example I have found (I’m sure there are even more than that in reality!) where Rogers changed his mind drastically about some issue related to the Shroud and it is ALL IN HIS HONOR. The other three examples are :
1- When he realized that the chromophore of the image could not probably be an oxidation-dehydration of the linen fiber itself (as he thought when he wrote his STURP paper)
2- When he realized that Benford and Marino’s hypothesis of an invisible repair in the area of the C14 corner was most probably correct (even if, at first, he though they were a bunch of lunatic and their hypothesis was irrational).
3- When he realized that Vignon’s vaporographic hypothesis wasn’t so crazy after all when it is confronted to all the most solid data and observations about the Shroud (even if, at first, he though that this hypothesis was a non sense).
This quote offer also another important proof: Rogers was not the close-minded hyper rationalist that all his detractors have wanted us to believe! It’s important because it clearly showed that his naturalistic hypothesis concerning the Maillard reaction was not driven by a will to crush down at all cost every possible supernatural hypotheses that have been put forward over the years, like many anti-Rogers persons (like Rolfe for example) have supposed (even on your blog)! In sum, this particular quote from Rogers is a proof that all these anti-Rogers folks are dead wrong concerning his real motivation versus the Shroud… And for me, this particular quote gave even more credibility to a natural hypothesis concerning the image formation because it shows that it is NOT what Rogers was first thinking and he later had to change his mind when he came accross new facts and observations from Adler!
So, I really think YOU SHOULD PUT THIS QUOTE FROM RUFFIN’S BOOK ONLINE RIGHT NOW, so that people can understand how professional and honest a scientist Rogers was and how much he was humble enough to CHANGE HIS MIND on something related to the Shroud… As my friend Barrie Schwortz told me more than once, to his knowledge, Rogers was one of the only Shroud scientist who was ever able to do this kind of prouesse ! And it is totally unlike most of the modern Shroud researchers by the way who, once they had their minds made up, they did everything they could to stick to their personal conclusions about the Shroud. [ . . . ]
In the end, there’s no doubt about that: Personal egos are the ruin and the shame of Shroud research and it would be time that another honest and rigorous scientist like Rogers come into the Shroud world (would be great if it could be an expert in biochemistry)!
It’s interesting to note, as Dan told me by email, that Joe Nickell have used this particular quote from Rogers to back-up his anti-Shroud agenda! That means one thing: There are always many ways to understand one quote from someone! I wonder if bloggers agree with my interpretation of Rogers quote or if they see things more like Nickell…
This is not at all clear. What, in the end, was Roger’s final opinion? It should be in keeping with his scientific papers.
This quote of 1978 was the first impression of Rogers. It’s important because it shows that along the way, he completely change is opinion when he learned new facts and observations, especially the ghosts of coloration found by Adler. This and many other facts and observation leaded him to conclude that the body image on the Shroud must have been formed by a natural formation process that acted at normal temperature. For me, this quote clearly shows the honesty and professionalism of Ray Rogers.
Thanks, it is clear now.
Yes indeed. This is one of the many things that made Ray Rogers a world-class scientist. Anyone who says differently has no idea what they are talking about.
In fact, that’s how science SHOULD always work. You got new data and facts that shed new lights on a topic : you adjust your conclusion in consequence. Rogers did that.