You rightly criticized Dave Wilcox for not using up-to-date references in his
article "Adam, Where Are You?" in PSCF, 48:2, 1996, pp. 88-96. You noted
that the average date of his 80 citations is 1987.
On the whole, your criticism is well taken. He and all PSCF authors and
referees should use the most up-to-date references available. There is one
consideration, however, that you may not know about, but that needs to given
any author who writes for PSCF. A time lag of about two years exists
between the time an author submits an article for publication and when it
appears in print. By the time the article is published, not only are many of
his/her references out of date, but the author's position may even have
changed substantially. This time-lag presents a real problem in submitting
articles for publication in PSCF.
The book you cited most often in your critique (4 times): (James R. Shreeve,
The Neanderthal Enigma, [New York: William Morrow and Co., 1995], p. 11.)
was not even in print yet when Wilcox was writing his article.
The book by Clive Gamble, (Timewalkers [Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1994], 9. p. 162) became available just as Wilcox was probably completing his
article. The same is about as true of Kathy Schick and Nicholas Toth, Making
Silent Stones Speak, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993), p. 271. Other
articles and books you cited dated prior to 1992, however, were available to
Wilcox.
As ever,
Robert DeHaan