I suspect Lowell had lots of good ideas, plus some that don't work, like most of us. I suspect his idea of 103° triggering is nonsense; there is no evidence for it, and there is no reason it should be true.

However, it is likely some of the ideas I've published are not exactly right, or just dead wrong, as well.

So some would call Lowell kooky if he is adamant for arguing for 103° triggering, and he should know that he has never published a paper defending the idea. Some might consider me kooky for publishing with plausible but in the end inadequate data at times. Some scientists never publish speculation to avoid ever being wrong.

I guess I'm saying there are degrees of kookiness; it is not just black and white.