CA320.1: Mims

Claim CA320.1:

Source:

Response:

1. Mims was not fired; he was never hired in the first place (though Piel, the editor of Scientific American, initially gave him reason to believe he would be hired). A private company does not need to have an excuse for not hiring someone they don't like.
   
   
2. Many, perhaps most, evolutionists agree that Piel did not act appropriately. Mims' work should be judged on its own merits.
   
   
3. Arguably, Mims would not have been good for the position. Creationism denies the validity of much of biology, geology, and astronomy, making a creationist's competence in those fields suspect. Piel was reportedly worried mostly about the public relations problems of involving the magazine with creationism (Piel and Mims 1991), and given subsequent events, his worries were justified. Although many people believe Piel made the wrong decision, his decision was not entirely without merit.
   
   
4. Mims himself did not emerge from the incident looking virtuous. He recorded one phone call with Piel without Piel's knowledge or permission (although reputedly at the advise of a lawyer friend). When Mims was not hired, he spoke harshly, publicly, and doggedly against Piel. The issue likely became such a big deal because both sides overreacted.

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