Wallace West

Scientific theories are never "true or "false"; they are "good" or "bad" in various degrees, and the criterion is one of usefulness—predictability and manipulation to (seeming) advantage. Theories are often discarded, simply because evidence may be insufficient for one, where it seems to sustain another—or where another can account for observed phenomena more simply. Take Lamarck's theories on the effect of environment on heredity; so far, the evidence seems to put this in the "bad" classification. But if certain experiments could be made…. Wallace West, born May 22, 1900 and died March 8, 1980; was an American science fiction writer. He began publishing during 1927 with the story "Loup-Garou" in Weird Tales. The majority of West's work, which was published prior to the 1960s, was short fiction. His few novels, mostly published after World War II, were mostly re-workings of his pre-war short fiction. He is credited with suggesting the plot to the Arch Oboler radio play Profits Unlimited (in Fourteen Radio Plays. Random House 1940). First published 1951 Ovi publishing: May 2023