Dear Mr. Kimball: Inominate Alan Sokal’s essay, “Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity.” He sent it to the notorious quack Stanley Fish, who swallwed it, cork, bottle, and wrapper and published it in Fish’s journal SOCIAL TEXT, solemnly nodding inagreement. Trouble was, Sokal made it up, conning Fish beautifully. Once exposed, Fish bawled that Sokal had committed a heinous academic crime, breaching the socially constructed trust. Not a syllable about Fish’s own 200 proof fraud, laced with LSD. Fish continued at Duke University, inoculating students and faculty alike with his poisonous hokum, building a dangerous machine that finally tried to crucify the lacrosse players, and damn near succeeded.

Sokal’s article is a gem all by itself, but by exposing the fraudulence that is characteristic of today’s academy, did a great public service. So why nominate it for the worst category? Because the hoax failed miserably. After some scattered hoots and jeers at Fish for his witlessness and gullibility, the academy marched along, trampling wisdom underfoot. The emperor had no clothes, everyone admitted it—and marched along in the procession.

A fair roundup of the hoax and its aftermath is here:

http://www.math.tohoku.ac.jp/~kuroki/Sokal/

Sincerely yours,
Gregory Koster