My exchange with Mr Philip Yeo on Aaron Ng's blog

Dear readers:

It seems that Mr Philip Yeo has responded to my earlier blog post on Aaron Ng's blog. He has a different opinion from mine on the AcidFlask incident. I can empathize with Mr Philip Yeo. I believe he takes great pride in his work, and the development of A*STAR in pushing the biomedical sciences initiative in Singapore. Understandably, the remarks by AcidFlask on his blog may have resulted in aspersions being casted on his work. No one would like to have a wrench being thrown into his works, me included. Admittedly, Mr Philip Yeo is entitled to his defense, and that to me is a signature of his conviction towards his work, which I find admirable.

However, I have reasons to believe that AcidFlask might not have been aware of the technicalities of Libel Law because I was following his blog prior to the unfortunate exchange with Mr Philip Yeo and A*STAR. I mean not all of us are born lawyers, who will eventually go to law schools. None of us are born blabbering the maxims of Libel Law when we first start to talk, yeah?

It may have been unfortunate that Mr Philip Yeo has adopted a starkly different stand from mine, but I do not believe in kicking a man down when he makes a mistake out of his ignorance. Not all would anticipate that quoting a libelous comment would see the perpetuator being hauled into the hallowed walls of the Supreme court. I am sure the same thing went through AcidFlask's mind. A mistake is a mistake, so let's move on with life, yeah? Perhaps, the best would be to agree to disagree.

Last but not least, it would be good to have a diversity of opinions. The blogosphere would be a monochromatic place if all and sundry adopted one standard opinion on the AcidFlask episode. A diversity of opinions would make the blog world a more colourful place, wouldn't it?

On an ending note, I created this blog in order to have a friendly exchange of ideas in the areas of science, technology, philosophy, and any other controversial topics. It's a move away from the days when I had vituperative, calumniating jibes hurled in my direction, whereby everything degenerates into a rotting cesspool, hence the assumption of my new identity.

Excerpts from my response to Mr Philip Yeo:

Dear Mr Philip Yeo:

I personally do not think that all and sundry are aware of Libel Laws, even amongst the most intelligent ones. A close friend of was mine surprised to learn that if an author were to quote another person making a libelous comment, he would also face legal liability for his comments.

Perhaps, it’s this ignorance that leads to a person committing the mistake. Secondly, I was making a conjecture of the circumstances at AcidFlask’s side. It could be due to a series of communication involving many personalities that leads to a distorted and garbled message. AcidFlask made the cardinal error of blogging these messages from the accounts, and I have reasons to believe he is not aware of the legal implications. The reason why I choose to take a light-hearted view of the incident is because I sincerely believe AcidFlask might have made a mistake out of his ignorance of the technicalities of Libel Law. All of us make mistakes as a result of our ignorance and I am no exception. Of course, I find it regrettable that this mistake of AcidFlask may have resulted in the casting of aspersions on your work, which I think it’s highly praiseworthy and commendable, BUT a mistake is a mistake nevertheless. What’s the best course of action then? Maybe an apology and moving on with life.

Sir, it has been two years since this conflict is raging between you and Chen Jiahao, and I believe every Winter must end with the coming of spring. Perhaps, a time for an olive branch of peace?
Lastly, I regret any form of negativity caused as a result of my blog post and all I can do is to offer some words of solace. However, I believe all of us are in this school of Life, learning the many lessons of this world and some may have stumbled because of his inexperience and ignorance. I do not believe in kicking someone who has stumbled in this path of life, which is why I choose to take a rather light-hearted view of AcidFlask’s mistake. I was voicing my opinion and I hope you can agree to disagree. I mean you may like apples, but I prefer oranges, but both of us are fans of Japanese green tea, yeah?

On an ending note, the reason why I choose to stay anonymous is because I too have been on the receiving end of vituperative, calmniating attacks that my anonymity is a firewall against the ensueing conflagration. I am personally not afraid to reveal my identity to you, because my conscience is clear. As I have said earlier, lets agree to disagree as far AcidFlask is concerned and not detract from prior discussion of other issues.

Yours sincerely,
Dr Dee

Citations
Aaron Ng's blog. Clarification from A*STAR over AcidFlask incident. http://aaron-ng.info/blog/clarification-from-astar-over-acidflask-incident.html