Guest: Dr. David Livingston. This program, "Lessons Learned, Lessons Taught," expresses my opinion and thoughts regarding my recent experience with the New York Times Freakonomics blog and the poor editing of my essay response to "Is manned space exploration worth the cost? Why or why not?" Through a series of stupid decisions on my part, blind faith and trust, getting caught up in my own personal agenda, and some misleading emails from the Freakonomics corresponding editor , my essay was, in my opinion, very poorly edited and taken out of context. The final published piece was highly embarrassing to me. I decided to learn from this experience and tell the story in order to caution others from making the same mistake (s) I made. Listen to this short program for an explanation of what happened, how it happened, and why I am telling the story. My unedited essay will appear on The Space Review on January 21, 2008 and this story will appear on the Space Cynics website starting Jan. 21, 2008 as well. If you have any questions or comments about this show, the story I am sharing, the Freakonomics edited version of my essay , or the unedited version, please contact me at drspace@thespaceshow.com. In addition, if you want my own editor's opinion on this situation, please email me and I will forward the message to Mel for her reply. She was part of this process and read all the emails and instructions I received. And please, if you are submitting a piece to a mainstream publication, be smart about it and tightly edit the piece yourself. Do not trust mainstream editors or publications to do justice to your words and thoughts , to share your excitement, your passion, your expertise, and your commitment to your cause. Listen to this Space Show program to find out why I say this.
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