Talk:Edward Leedskalnin

Accuracy & Verification of written works

Is anyone aware of a reliable source for the dates of the pamphlets leedskalnin wrote and sold? Just a microfilm of the miami newspaper advertisement (for the pamphlet) would be a step in the right direction, supposing it exists.

Specifically magnetic current is of the most interest, and it seems to have been published / created for the first time in 1988 (after billy idol's sweet sixteen, and "in search of" episode had made coral castle a relatively well known tourist attraction). I have never seen a copy or scan of any original pamplet (or even secondhand copy thereof), except possibly a book in every home which is not intersesting. Nor have i seen any references to the magnetic current pamphlet that could help verify the creation date... Does anyone have these details?

It would seem we have to conclude fraud by the modern owners of the attraction (at least for selling the pamphlets as authentic, if not manufacturing them to begin with) unless the source can be verified and reasonable chronology established.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.233.157.189 (talk) 06:03, 19 October 2017 (UTC) 

I have a source which can supply scans of Ed's written works, that were published in the 1950's, and distributed at Coral Castle, then known as Rock Gate. I have copies of these scans as well. The pamphlet has a copyright date of 1945, and ed's article appeared in the Miami News, on February 3rd, 1946, on page 18, if you want to try and find it yourself.Poughkeepsieblue (talk) 23:06, 25 November 2018 (UTC)

Fringe theorist

Is there any way to make it clear that this guy was a fringe theorist without us tripping over WP:NPOV etc? I came to this article following a conversation in a pub, where someone actually seemed to think his ideas were accepted and this belief was based entirely on our article. That is scary.

I've just done some GSearches and the only support for him seems to come from obvious nutters & small-time publishers/vanity publishers. There seems to be next to nothing in academic literature and I think that, somehow, we have to make this absolutely clear. I should have access to JSTOR in the next two or three weeks & can do a search there for any stuff that GBooks/GScholar etc may have missed but, honestly, it doesn't take a genius to work out that Leedskalnin was not entirely compos mentis when it comes to his theories. And, yes, I have read Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and am well aware of the Gallileo effect. - Sitush (talk) 01:35, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

If I remember correctly, Leedskalnin gets a section in "Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions" - will look for my copy to see if there's anything we can use there. bobrayner (talk) 15:19, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Finally found it (I shall have to ask the staff to reorganise the library wing at Bobrayner Manor ;-)

The book takes a nicely indulgent approach to various people with unconventional ideas, and doesn't use such petty name-calling as "crank" or "fringe" or "wrong". It doesn't go any further than "eccentric". Nonetheless, I'll update the article based on the book, hopefully making our coverage of him more accurate and neutral... any suggestions? bobrayner (talk) 17:42, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Sprry, I am (literally) from Malleus land. We call a spade a bloody spade here in Manchester when discussing things. ;) I'm still searching for info and, of course, have now read read fully the cite dumps I put in Further Reading. I've no idea about your book but the ones I've added do not look terribly good as sources. - Sitush (talk) 21:54, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Oh! I studied in Malleus-land, and left a little piece of my heart there. Anyway, this is a common problem with less-notable WP:FRINGE topics - it's possible to find a dozen sources which repeat dubious claims but none which present a mainstream view, because the mainstream never paid enough attention... you know the deal. bobrayner (talk) 11:51, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

I would like to point out that although Ed's theories on cosmic force can be considered outside mainstream science, bordering 'fring' science, that his pamphlet "Magnetic Current" is an extremely accurate depiction of the nature of Magnetism. The experiments conducted within it, are accurate, and can be considered valuable information in understanding Magnetism, the way it is made and controlled. The myth has contributed to a misunderstanding of Ed's scientific skills. He had an incredibly solid foundation of understanding electricity and magnetism, but applied it to his own theories and ideas. "Eccentric" is an accurate description of his work, but none the less, he displayed a very accurate description of the nature of electricity and magnetism in "Magnetic Current". I've been researching and collecting information on Ed for years, and have a vast amount of resources, pictures, scans and articles which would contribute greatly to this Wiki. I have sources who have scans of ed's books from the 1950's, and I possess a copy of the microfilm of ed's original article published th the Miami newspaper. I also have actual photographs of Ed's naturalization papers and naturalization application forms, that were photographed in the National Archives in Georgia, if they would help, I can make those available. Poughkeepsieblue (talk) 22:48, 25 November 2018 (UTC)

Date of Ed's published works

The article designates 1988 as the publication date of his written works. This is grossly wrong. The books themselves have copyright dates of 1936, 1945, and 1946 chronologically, for ed's 5 pamphlets. Although they were self published and distributed exclusively at Coral Castle (then known as Rock Gate, the name Ed gave the park), they were still published long before 1988, and copies can still be found with visitors from that era. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Poughkeepsieblue (talk • contribs) 22:06, 25 November 2018 (UTC)

Above, there is a request for verification of the date of ed's written works. I have a saved print of microfilm from ed's Miami article. It shows the article as it appeared in print. The date is with it. I also know of several sources that have copies and scans of ed's works from the 1950's. I also have a vast amount of vintage images of ed and Rock Gate. I also have photographs of all of ed's naturalization paperwork, from the national archives in Georgia. I have been collecting these documents for a few years now, which I believe will serve as fine sources to cite corrections to this article. If anyone is interested in having them for review, I can make them available. Otherwise, I consider myself an expert on actual facts about Ed, including the mythos, and would be happy to edit the entire article accordingly. I've never edited a wiki before, but being incredibly researched on the subject of Ed Leedskalnin, I consider it my pleasure and duty to correct the falsities, and address the fact. There are only a handful of researches on the planet who have delved as deep as I have into Ed's life and work. I'm not sure how I should proceed, but I know the publication date is wrong, and I have sources that can prove it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Poughkeepsieblue (talk • contribs) 22:26, 25 November 2018 (UTC)

@Poughkeepsieblue: thanks very much for this offer. There are some possible limitations on what you can add. Read WP:VERIFY and no original research. In a nutshell, you can't use your own knowledge, only that which can be verified. You can use material that isn't on the web but must cite the original sources, presuming that it can be somehow accessed, ie by visiting a library. So you can change the publication dates. It's probably best to start by making suggestions here. I don't know if anyone other than me is currently watching this article. Doug Weller talk 10:27, 26 November 2018 (UTC)

Is this still being monitored? I have newspaper clippings of original writings. Ed instructs how to send a dollar in order to receive Magnetic Current and additional work dated from 1946. I will wait for contact here, or will edit article three weeks from today.Dante137 (talk) 00:00, 28 January 2019 (UTC)dante137