Some readers may remember Stuart Pivar*, now 89, who played a role in promoting an alternative approach to textbook Darwinism (see Lifecode). He sheds light on how so many somehow Darwin-related names ended up getting mentioned in the recently terminated Jeffrey Epstein real live horror show:
Pivar was also present for a number of Epstein’s science summits. Epstein himself was no scientist, said Pivar, the author of Lifecode: The Theory of Biological Self-Organization and an advocate of non-Darwinian models of evolution. (This was borne out in a recent New York Times story that described Epstein’s interest in cryonics and eugenics and his wish to “seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating women” at his New Mexico ranch.) Epstein was a dilettante, and easily distracted. But he pulled so many prominent thinkers into his social circle, using the promise of his money to create “some kind of a mini university of thought,” that in Pivar’s view he did “amazing, incredible, amazing, remarkable things for science.” There were lavish dinner parties with the likes of Steven Pinker and Stephen Jay Gould during which Epstein would ask provocatively elementary questions like “What is gravity?” If the conversation drifted beyond his interests, Epstein was known to interrupt, “What does that got to do with pussy?!” …
Leland Nally, “Jeffrey Epstein, My Very, Very Sick Pal” at Mother Jones
Well, talk about a smoking gun…! Never mind that just now.
As the interview shows, Epstein seems to have kept Pivar apart from his underage girls op in the Caribbean: “No, I never saw him fool around with—in fact, Jeffrey was a very, very close friend of mine. And he shielded me. I never saw what he did until finally I did notice certain things, and that was the end of me having to do with him.” (Lally, Mother Jones)
It makes sense; a clever villain insulates some useful friends from his misdeeds. Because he doesn’t know how things will turn out.
Just think: Pivar could have been on the witness stand somewhere, telling the jury in The Queen vs. Jeffrey Epstein that he was morally certain that his pal Epstein wouldn’t have done anything like that because… because he had been shielded from it. And he would be telling the truth too.
In his telling, Pivar ended his friendship with Epstein after learning from Farmer of her sexual assault. Some evidence of the tension between Pivar and Epstein is lying in public view. In August 2007, Pivar sued a science blogger named P.Z. Myers and Seed Media Group, which hosted his blog, alleging defamation. Myers had lit into Pivar’s work, calling him “a classic crackpot.” In his complaint, Pivar made a point of mentioning by name two prominent members of SMG’s board: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The lawsuit was later dropped.
Leland Nally, “Jeffrey Epstein, My Very, Very Sick Pal” at Mother Jones
Not to get too deep in the weeds while we sort out what happened, the difficulty with pop science celebrity is that it’s like any other celebrity; it attracts some of the worst parasites.
*Pivar’s science role is recalled by Suzan Mazur at Oscillations, where his emphasis on “form” in biology is given (over)due consideration: See Kim Sneppen, Simons Center Talk: “We are basically all doughnuts”
Meanwhile, from the Uncommon Descent News Wayback machine:
Stu Pivar’s Book Lifecode: So What’s In It? Why The Fuss? Okay, here at last is Jerry Bergman’s review of Stuart Pivar’s Lifecode. Yes, Stu Pivar was the friend of Steve Gould who was suing and then unsuing PZ Myers.
See also: Darwinists May Be Paying A Price For Pop Science Celebrity: Jeffrey Epstein
UD Newswatch: Epstein suicide
Now Steve Pinker Is Getting #MeToo’d, At Inside Higher Ed Over Jeffrey Epstein
Alleged Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein Pledged $30 Million For Harvard Evolution Program
and
Jeff Epstein’s cultural dumpster fire spreads to ID vs. evo controversies. Just because people are in the news doesn’t mean they did anything. It rather shows how a bad actor can change the news picture.
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