The Shawl Controversy

[admin tim]

Well, what did ever happen to it?

[Cris Malone]

The case was solved and everybody went home?

[Guest]

Well FUNNY you should ask. Russell (and maybe Jari?) will make an appearance on an internet 'paranormal' streaming video show called 'Hauntings of England' next month, unless our laughing at the 'Haunting' guys on Twitter makes them rethink their casting, but I doubt it will. Billed by the show as "the man who helped prove who he (Jack) was"

http://www.hauntingsofengland.com

JM

[Adam Went]

Didn't they appear at a Ripper conference? What happened there? I must have missed a chunk of proceedings.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Paul]

The paperback is due out soon and it apparently contains the result of a lot more scientific work and proves Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper.

[Tracy Ianson]

Out of curiosity what do people think would have happened if the relevance of the Dna mistake hadn't been recognised by ChrisP.

Would the book have become a success or fallen down regardless?

[Howard Brown]

Excellent question, Tracy....

I, for one wouldn't buy it....that it was not in pristine shape ( make that uncontaminated shape ) is why.

[Paul]

Out of curiosity what do people think would have happened if the relevance of the Dna mistake hadn't been recognised by ChrisP.

Would the book have become a success or fallen down regardless?

I suppose if the DNA mistake hadn't been recognised by anyone then the claims made in the book would have been generally accepted as correct.

[Sam Flynn]

I was highly sceptical of the book's claims anyway, even if the DNA mistake had not been called out. I'm so glad it was, though.

[Anna Morris]

That book was launched with ultra sensationalism. Therefore I always felt it would be a flash in the pan, and that it was planned that way. As we can see it takes a lot more than DNA to "identify" JtR. It was extremely risky IMO to claim to absolutely name Jack with what the authors and scientists had.

[Paul]

That book was launched with ultra sensationalism. Therefore I always felt it would be a flash in the pan, and that it was planned that way. As we can see it takes a lot more than DNA to "identify" JtR. It was extremely risky IMO to claim to absolutely name Jack with what the authors and scientists had.

Not really. If they had a piece of material with the DNA of a victim and a primary suspect on it, they would have been imbeciles if they hadn't shouted it from the rooftops as loudly as they could. And that is exactly what they thought they hadand what they did.

What baffles me is why someone decided to dumb down the science. It wasn't as if the evidence was provided by some washed-up semi-scientist working from his kitchen at home. Dr L is a scientist highly respected internationally and working for a good university, so there was every reason to play up the science; to make it the core of the book instead of something akin to an afterthought.

[Phillip Walton]

Its now been 'remaindered' which says it all really.

[Gary Barnett]

Its now been 'remaindered' which says it all really.

Phillip,

£5.99 in 'The Works' in Romford I noticed today. I normally can't resist a bargain, but this time I somehow managed to.

Gary.

[Guest]

The paperback is due out soon and it apparently contains the result of a lot more scientific work and proves Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper.

Just wanted to repost this, as it means we can look forward to round two and just maybe, possibly, scientific claims that are harder to dispute when all you have to argue with is a book.

JM

[Anna Morris]

Paul: Science gets dumbed down so that the basic reading public doesn't get turned off mentally. My first writing jobs were as a technical writer for a science department. It isn't always about dumbing down, but explaining so that a targeted audience can easily understand. Sometimes it is about dumbing down.

With the shawl they have what they have, which is a piece of history. For me there are a lot of problems in absolutely naming ANY people though the rarer blood type could be indicative of Kate.

There are so many possibilities concerning the shawl. I was thinking today that a novelist could write a number of different stories about how the shawl fit into various events.

From the business end of publishing their best bet was to create a feeding frenzy before there was too much discussion. Good marketing. I respect the science and the scientist but don't accept all the conclusions.