  A continuing mystery in particle physics is the large polarization observed
in inclusive hyperon production in high energy p-p collisions. In this paper
the authors advance the concept that the polarization effects can be accounted
for in a simple model based on quarks becoming polarized in the direct q-q
scattering process and where, at a fundamental level, the s quark is treated no
differently than the u and d, except that it is required to have been created
as part of a s-sbar pair prior to the collision. The q-q polarization
parameters are extracted from p-p elastic scattering using a previous model and
these are used to predict the Lambda polarization from the p-p data. Remarkably
good agreement is obtained, raising the possibility that the large hyperon
polarizations are no more of a mystery than the p-p polarization itself and
that, at least at small pt, the two may be simply related. This concept is
extended in an attempt to explain the polarizations observed in other inclusive
hyperon processes with the finding that hyperon and elastic polarizations,
which previously seemed almost unrelated, may have a simple and common origin.
