(updated 16th Oct 2001 to reflect only website directory changes)
(last significant modification 8/27/99)
Table of Contents
for Supporting InformationThese are direct links to the different sections for page three.
These are internal links into the different sections for this page, four.
BACKGROUND SUPPORT - DEREK'S REASONS HIS SCHOOL IS SECRET
Here are the reasons Derek has claimed he's unwilling to name his alma mater. (in approximate chronological order) I've tried to list all of Derek's reasons to show how poor and inconsistent the reasons are. As a contradictory statement by Derek on 8/26/97 he apparently lied, "there _is_ a post in which I mentioned my qualifications AND schools." This post has been searched for but, never found, I believe it's a lie. If any of the following excuses are real then, why did he make the seemingly contradictory statement that he had already named his school? It seems obvious that on 8/26/97 (the eve of Derek Smart Fraud Day), Derek was just trying to distract me and make me believe he wasn't trying to hide anything (which I believe is the whole reason behind his bet). For this complete post see
Post09BetResponseRant.txt1. You do your homework.(ed. posted 3/16/97, told to editors of
PCGamer&Boot)
2. I bet it's real. (ed. 8/9/97, Derek's return salvo in the first
exchange of the PhD wars.)
3. I want Huffman to pay for this. (ed. main excuse during Aug.'97)
4. I will not be blackmailed. (ed. I don't get this one at all. Maybe
he doesn't understand what blackmail means?)
5. It is personal information. (ed. From the end of Aug. to about Nov.
1997, this seemed to be Derek's main reason. On a contradictory note,
on Derek Smart Fraud Day, he said it would be in his book that he still
claims is currently being done.)
6. If I reveal my alma mater then, the detractors will just find
something else to flame me about. (ed. He hasn't used this one in a
long time. This is an extra lame attempt because I have said that if
the PhD is validated I will write a public apology and never post to a
Derek Smart thread again. Other detractors have said they would also
abide by this. Derek used this for only a short time, I think because
he just plain forgot about what he always considered to be an offer
that would be impossible to accept.)
7. The detractors will just make fun of my school. (ed. This is extra
lame for the same reason as number 6. He used it for only a very short
time during the same period as number 6.)
8. The detractors will bother my professors. (ed. Administration clerks
handle degree validation, not professors.)
9. I don't want people bothering my school. (ed. This is lame because
administration clerks respond to requests for degree validation very
quickly and efficiently. To get a copy of a dissertation, it costs
about $75 so, librarians wouldn't be bothered either.)
10. It might break the frame to scan my diploma.(ed. an OOPS? but, he
has mentioned he almost scanned it on at least two occasions?)
11. I have my reasons or, I've been through it all before. (ed.
currently seems to be Derek's favorite)
12. If someone contacted my school then, the school might want money
from me. I can't tell you the reason, but, when I told someone in
email, he responded in the newsgroup that if what I had told him was
true then, I was a criminal. (ed. This is an argument that his school
might want a share of the BC3K profits. He has implied that he stole
code [or something?] for BC3K from his school. If this were true then
why admit to wrong doing in a public forum? It would make much more
sense to be quiet about it and no one would ever know he stole the code
[or whatever?]. A ruse that falls short of believable, especially
considering the fact that he claims he didn't get any money from Take2.
see
BACKGROUND SUPPORT - UMI SAID WHAT'S LISTED
The vast majority of dissertations completed in the USA and England are listed in UMI's DAI (most are from the USA, which has excellent coverage in DAI). This list is available on CD-ROM at most colleges around the world. It's called Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI). Upon searching this information, no Derek Smart shows up. No dissertation with the title(s) Derek claims for his dissertation shows up. UMI verified that a dissertation cannot have it's listing in DAI suppressed by the author when the school has sent the dissertation to UMI.
Other sources that cover all dissertations from England have also been searched for Derek Smart or any of the claimed names for the dissertation, to no avail. I'm dispensing with further details because Derek admits that his dissertation isn't listed anywhere so, no one is really interested (except Dan Brooks who can't seem to grasp the concept of irrelevant).
Dan Brooks (a fanatical Derek supporter) and I have called Karen Kaltz at UMI. She said that even if the dissertation has been "suppressed", it will still be listed in DAI as long as the school sends the information to UMI. You just won't be able to get a copy in that case. It's also possible that the abstract wouldn't be available in DAI but, it would still be listed there. It is possible that schools may sometimes choose not to even send the information for "suppressed" dissertations to UMI then, it will of course, not be listed in UMI or DAI. From UMI's perspective that is all that they could say. They are an independent company not a regulatory agency and so can't pretend to know what each school would do.
National security is the only reason I know of that a dissertation can be "suppressed", but, Derek has never claimed this as the reason for his dissertation being suppressed, as far as I know. Suppression is EXTREMELY rare. I know of no cases where the dissertation has been completely suppressed to the point that it doesn't show up anywhere. I really don't believe that it happens. There's a saying in the universities "publish or perish". This is because a very significant portion of a school's and a professor's reputation is based on both the quality and quantity of published papers. Suppressing dissertations goes against the whole academic philosophy of furthering human knowledge. When I've asked librarians and PhD's about suppressed dissertations, the typical response is to even question the possibility. When I then point out that I've heard that they can be suppressed for national security reasons, to paraphrase a typical response, "Yes, I guess that is possible, especially if the research was paid for by a government grant." But even in that case, I'd expect the dissertation to still be listed, copies just wouldn't be available.
Karen said that from now on, all USA accredited college dissertations will be listed in DAI. MIT is the only college left that does not allow UMI to make copies of the dissertations as a school policy but, the MIT dissertations will still be listed in DAI. Even when a dissertation copy is not available from UMI, a copy will still be available through the school library.
Regarding DAI coverage in England, from 1989 to 1993 the coverage in DAI is excellent, 100%. This is when the British Department of Education was sending the dissertations to UMI. The coverage from 1994 to now is about 25% to 30%. These dissertations are sent by the authors and a few of the schools because, UMI/DAI is recognized as the most comprehensive listing for dissertations.
Dissertations from non-accredited schools are sometimes listed in DAI. However, it would not be listed as a dissertation, it would be listed as a research abstract. I was informed by UMI that they were trying to phase out this practice of sometimes listing non-accredited school dissertations.
Note: a special thanks is due Mr. Smart's fanatical supporter, Dan Brooks. Dan did the research into this more detailed information about UMI and DAI and even corrected an irrelevent misunderstanding I had. (I thought, incorrectly, that you could expect all dissertations to be listed in DAI.) It was an irrelevent error because by October 1997 Derek had admitted that his dissertation is not listed anywhere. I didn't start trying to formalize this presentation until well after that had occurred.
BACKGROUND SUPPORT - LIBRARIAN'S SEARCH
Searches were also done for anything published by Derek Smart. Here is where one professional librarian searched.
the Dissertations Abstract Online
Sci Search.
UMI- both on line and telephone
IEEE and IE(UK) database from 1988 forward. Doesn't seem he has written
anything for those pubs.
ACM Guide to all ACM Pubs. no luck
OCLC online nothing no books, dissertation, or papers
Stanford Technical papers database
Cambridge UK Technical papers database. These also came up empty.
The point of all these failed searches is that we were trying to establish if Derek was ever enrolled in a postgraduate program anywhere. This couldn't be done since all searches came up empty.
Of course, if Derek has a bogus PhD from a diploma mill then, you wouldn't expect anything to show up in any of these searches, since these listings are intended for bona fide studies only.
BACKGROUND SUPPORT - BOOK SAYS DISSERTATIONS ARE LISTED
"Get the Facts on Anyone", second edition, by Dennis King, published 1998 Barnes & Noble Books says
"A congressional study has estimated that upward of 500,000 Americans have obtained false academic and/or professional credentials from diploma mills, credential brokers, and other suppliers of instant status." pg. 176
"Checking Out Subject's Thesis or Dissertation
All universities will have in their library stacks the master's theses
and doctoral dissertations of graduate students who obtained degrees at
that school. ... [snip the rest of this paragraph and the next
paragraph of details about getting the information from the libraries]
If you cannot visit subject's college library, you can still easily
find out details about his or her dissertation. ... [snip middle of
paragraph about how to use the different indexes that cover all the
schools]
These indexes will indicate if subject indeed has the doctorate he or
she claims to have." pg. 181-182
Dennis King also suggests Dr. John Bear's book, which has been referenced previously, as the best source for checking on accreditation and the different schools. pg. 178
If you're interested in this book, I bought it at Barnes & Noble for only $6.95 (IIRC). I believe it's also available at www.amazon.com (as is Dr. John Bear's book).
As you'll see in the following section, Mr. Smart claims that his dissertation is not listed anywhere, not in the indexes nor in the library of his college.
BACKGROUND SUPPORT - COPIES OF MR. SMART POSTS
This is partial copy of some posts that show that Derek now admits that his dissertation is not listed or published. It also shows that Derek has tried to change his story on the bet when you compare this to the actual bet in
PhDFraudFrom: dsmart@pobox.com (Derek Smart)
Subject: Re: BATTLECRUISER 3000AD v1.01D6 Released
Date: 29 Oct 1997
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic
On 29 Oct 1997 20:52:58 GMT, scout@magicnet.net (Scout ) wrote:
...snip...
>As for Derek's PHD, ( or his credentials as you put it ) it's not a
>very pretty situation. Within the constraints of reason, and logic, it
>is extremely unlikely that Derek has a legitimate PHD. Aside from his
>refusal to reveal the granting Institution, the most damning evidence
>was Derek's own admission a few days ago that he had lied about it
>being published. Not a *smart* move as far as his credibility goes.
>(grin)
ahem, er, I'd like to interrupt this for a sec. I didn't 'admit' to
lying about anything. Someone asked why I sent Bill off looking for it
and I simply indicated that it was a wild goose chase because I knew he
wouldn't find it. He swore that he would. This is the reason why I was
NOT surprised when he came up empty handed. I have the posts if you'd
like me to send them to you. There was a bet going on and had he taken
it, would have lost miserably because there is no way on this planet he
could've found it. He may as well try to gain access to the rest of my
copyrighted stuff.
From: dsmart@pobox.com (Derek Smart)
Subject: Re: Question for Derek
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 97 16:17:10 +0000
...snip...
When Bill took off looking for my thesis, I knew for a fact that he
wouldn't find it but I was curious to see where it would go. Now, why
on Earth would I challenge him, to the extent of putting out a bet and
given the nature of the comms medium, to find it?
...snip the rest
.....
From: dsmart@NOSPAM@pobox.com (Derek Smart)
Subject: Re: BC3K - Illogical, and Highway Robbery!
Date: 20 Jan 1998 00:00:00 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic,alt.games.bc3000ad
...snip...
THIS IDIOT, BILL CAN'T OFFER PROOF THAT ALL DISSERTATIONS ARE LISTED.
MINE IS NOT LISTED AND WILL NEVER BE LISTED.
...snip the rest...
Subject: Re: BC3K on PC Games cd-rom (July/August)
From: dsmart@pobox.com (Derek Smart)
Date: 1998/06/17
...snip...
Huffman ... I made a mistake when I taunted him to go and find my
thesis. I wanted to win the bet, not for the money, but for fun,
because clearly, he wouldn't have found it. Had he accepted it, he
would've lost (on a technicality) pure and simple.
...snip the rest ....
--------------------------------------------------
Unfortunately for Derek, he got tangled in his own web of lies. He claims that the times he said that his dissertation was published could all be explained away as trying to get me to go on a "wild goose chase", in order to punish me. However, Derek apparently forgot (and now ignores) that he had told the PCGamer and Boot magazine editors to look up his dissertation and school in a post dated 3/16/97. This is about five months before the PhD fraud wars began. Derek is still apparently sticking to this story. He just continues to ignore the fact that the 3/16/97 post exists.
Here's a partial copy of that
3/16/97 post. To set the context of the post, Derek is upset because an
article was published in Boot that said that it couldn't be true that
BC3K has a neural net in it. It said that this was technically a
ridiculous claim. Derek claims that his dissertation explains how this
unlikely task was done.
-----------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: BC3K - Appetizers
From: dsmart@ix.netcom.com (Derek Smart)
Date: 1997/03/16
...snip...
In case anyone was wondering, my Ph.D. is in Computer Science and my
thesis was on "Artificial Intelligence & the art of computerized
thinking" A subject which, until a few years ago, was in it's infancy.
Where from? I'll let you do the research. The results will be stunning
at best. Trust me on this. [...] So, when one decides to make a
personal attack on someone's integrity, it's VERY important that one
does the homework. It saves so much hassles.
...snip the rest....
----------------------------------------------------
The full post is available from www.deja.com or here Post01DoYourHomework.txt .
Trying to explain away his change of story regarding the published then not published dissertation caused Derek to became more entangled in his own web of lies for another reason, it caused him to admit that his dissertation has never been listed anywhere. This has left him wide open with no defense to Fact 1 alone being sufficient to show that he's a fraud. see reference to "Get the Facts on Anyone". I think his best defense would have been to say it should be listed but, it must have got lost somehow.
I have a bachelor degree in Computer Science and in my opinion it is silly to claim in 1997 that Computer Science AI was in its infancy a few years previous. Also the titles claimed by Mr. Smart for his dissertation are too vague and general for a dissertation title. It would be similiar to someone claiming they have a PhD in physics and the title of their dissertation is claimed to be "Collisions & the art of energy transfer". Or, someone claiming they have a PhD in Forensic Medicine and the title of their dissertation is supposed to be "Dissections & the art of finding poisoned organs".
Email: Bill Huffman