The Problem With Post-Einsteinian Science...

[MGmirkin]

Many thanks to Klypp for pointing out this wonderful article:

(Where Have You Gone, Isaac Newton?)
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3147

A very interesting opinion piece on the blind alley that physicists have led themselves down since the time of Einstein, using the "hypothetico-deductive method."

[In] the Age of Reason ... Isaac Newton called for an end to ... lunacy. He famously declared that he "framed no hypotheses" -- meaning that he dismissed any idea that was unsupported by observational evidence. After Newton, peddlers of nonsense were banished to the disreputable realm of pseudo-science.

Until recently.

[...]

For the past decade many physicists have been wandering the streets with signs that read: "The End of Physics Is Near." They claim to be developing a final "theory of everything," which will leave future physicists with nothing to do but play computer games. We can dismiss their megalomania, yet still be tempted to agree with their message. The end that seems near, however, is not a climactic rise to omniscience but an embarrassing descent into pseudo-science.

[...]

Physicists didn't reach this state of intellectual bankruptcy overnight. Early in the 20th century, Einstein explicitly rejected Newton's scientific method. "We now realize," Einstein wrote, "how much in error are those theorists who believe that theory comes inductively from experience." Instead, he insisted that theories are "free creations of the human mind." The inevitable result of such freedom is the currently fashionable "fantasy physics."

Of course, physicists don't admit that they are engaged in fantasy. They say they are following the "hypothetico-deductive method," which sounds much more scientific.

Nowadays, rather than proceeding from experience to experiment to theory to testing,

[The "hypothetico-deductive method"] ... allows them to dream up any "theory" that tickles their fancy, provided they can deduce at least one consequence that might be observable sometime, somewhere, by somebody.

Or not...

Unfortunately, this is closer to the process of writing 'science fiction' than 'science fact,' allowing scientists to dream up anything they like regardless of whether it has any actual tie to reality. The fact of the matter is that mathematics is a symbolic language, but a language nonetheless. In my opinion, science fiction can be written in any language. Even math... All it takes is a little imagination (scientists seem to have A LOT)!

Real knowledge is the hard-won reward of a step-by-step process that takes us from observations to abstractions, generalizations and theories. In contrast, daydreaming requires little effort. That explains why theorists have been able to reach the "end of physics" so quickly and easily. Unfortunately, their stories about make-believe worlds are of no value to people living in the actual world.

In this modern age, when major revisions to the characteristics of well-known objects are required and even the vaunted "standard model of stellar evolution" appears to be falsified based on real-world observations that clash with current assumptions, it's time to publicly call for a return to "real science" and stop with the mathematical fairy stories...

Cheers,
~Michael Gmirkin

[StevenO]

I think the current state of physics is highlighted best by one of their latest inventions: the inflaton particle:

The inflaton is the generic name of the unidentified scalar field (and its associated particle) that may be responsible for an episode of inflation in the very early universe. According to inflation theory, the inflaton field provided the mechanism to drive a period of rapid expansion from 10−35 to 10−34seconds after the initial expansion that formed the universe.

The inflaton field's lowest energy state may or may not be a zero energy state. This depends on the chosen potential energy density of the field. Prior to the expansion period, the inflaton field was at a higher energy state. Random quantum fluctuations triggered a phase transition whereby the inflaton field released its potential energy as matter and radiation as it settled to its lowest energy state. This action generated a repulsive force that drove the portion of the universe that is observable to us today to expand from approximately 10−50 metres in radius at 10−35seconds to almost 1 metre in radius at 10−34seconds.

The name inflaton is not missing an 'i' in the last syllable. It is spelled that way in order to follow the convention of field names, such as photon field and gluon field, which end with "on".

It's no joke just look it up in Google...

Does any physicist realize that a physical "field" is a convolution of two interacting sources, so it makes no sense to talk about 'scalar fields' nor the field of a single particle???

[Solar]

The name inflaton is not missing an 'i' in the last syllable. It is spelled that way in order to follow the convention of field names, such as photon field and gluon field, which end with "on".

Does 'particl-itius' it ever stop? The big bang is predicated on the assumption that there was a 'creation' event. Their particle zoo had this little addition lurking in the shadows? How can you have a particle for a supposed field, of a supposed event, that may have never happened?

Well, you simply suppose a particle for every phase of an event that you can conjure up.

[junglelord]

Indeed the work of Carver Mead with Collective Electrodynamics is very clear, the last 100 years will be known as the dark ages of theory.

[Plasmatic]

Many thanks to Klypp for pointing out this wonderful article:

(Where Have You Gone, Isaac Newton?)
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3147

I posted this article on the old forum. His lectures are awesome and he is writing a book on induction in physics which im dying to read!

[junglelord]

"Today, physicists suppose that a particle can travel many different paths simultaneously, or travel backwards in time, or randomly pop into and out of existence from nothingness. They enjoy treating the entire universe as a "fluctuation of the vacuum," or as an insignificant member of an infinite ensemble of universes, or even as a hologram. The fabric of this strange universe is a non-entity called "spacetime," which expands, curves, attends yoga classes, and may have twenty-six dimensions."

Well he certainly mixes facts with his own inventions...like throwing in 26 dimensions....
The reverse time EM wave is a fact. The vacuum virtual flux is also a fact. He offers no rebuttal except he does not believe it. That does not disqualify facts.

Meanwhile he never mentions Dark Matter, Dark Energy as fairy tales. He really seems to not know what is true. He dismisses things he cannot understand, meanwhile totally advoids the true fairy tales. I can see that most people don't have a clue. The blind leading the blind comes to mind.

Read Carver Mead if you want to understand what is real....

[Plasmatic]

Just in case anyone would like to actually fact check.


"Physical Interpretation of the 26 Dimensions of Bosonic String Theory
Authors: Frank D. Smith Jr
(Submitted on 14 Feb 2001 (v1), last revised 15 Jul 2002 (this version, v2))
Abstract: The 26 dimensions of Closed Unoriented Bosonic String Theory are interpreted as the 26 dimensions of the traceless Jordan algebra J3(O)o of 3x3 Octonionic matrices, with each of the 3 Octonionic dimenisons of J3(O)o having the following physical interpretation: 4-dimensional physical spacetime plus 4-dimensional internal symmetry space; 8 first-generation fermion particles; 8 first-generation fermion anti-particles. This interpretation is consistent with interpreting the strings as World Lines of the Worlds of Many-Worlds Quantum Theory and the 26 dimensions as the degrees of freedom of the Worlds of the Many-Worlds.
Comments: 6 pages, pdf format, about 108k
Subjects: General Physics (physics.gen-ph)
Report number: TS-01-1
Cite as: arXiv:physics/0102042v2 [physics.gen-ph]

Submission history
From: Tony Smith [view email]
[v1] Wed, 14 Feb 2001 02:42:02 GMT (104kb)
[v2] Mon, 15 Jul 2002 16:53:44 GMT (148kb)"

http://arxiv.org/abs/physics?papernum=0102042


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"When the calculation is done, the critical dimensionality is not four as one may expect (three axes of space and one of time). Flat space string theories are 26-dimensional in the bosonic case, while superstring and M-theories turn out to involve 10 or 11 dimensions for flat solutions. In bosonic string theories, the 26 dimensions come from the Polyakov equation.[11] Starting from any dimension greater than four, it is necessary to consider how these are reduced to four dimensional space-time."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory



http://physics.bgu.ac.il/~yarom/presentation/string.pps

[junglelord]

Well 26 dimension, 12 dimension, 10 dimension, its all fairy tales....yet he groups it with real facts he cannot comprehend.

Maybe they would also like to check the facts of reverse time EM wave and vacuum virtual quantum existance.

[Plasmatic]

Im sure He would agree to disagree on accepting concepts as existents for facts and chalk it up to faulty reasoning and interpretation from observation. Thats what Id do.

[junglelord]

Reverse time EM waves
http://www.thunderbolts.info/wp/forum/phpB ... f=10&t=334

In this letter, time reversal is applied to wideband electromagnetic waves in a reverberant room. To that end a multiantenna time reversal mirror (TRM) has been built. A 150 MHz bandwidth pulse at a central frequency of 2.45 GHz is radiated by a monopolar antenna, spread in time due to reverberation, recorded at the TRM, time reversed, and retransmitted. The time-reversed wave converges back to its source and focus in both time and space. The time compression is studied versus the number of antennas in the TRM and its bandwidth. The focal spot is also measured thanks to an eight-channel receiving array. ©2006 American Institute of Physics

and quantum vacuum flux (Casimir Effect) are not concepts.


One would do well to learn the facts before dismissing them as concepts. Indeed concepts that are recognized effects and also have electronic equipment built based on that theory is a pretty convincing fact as I see it. Now maybe the quote above means nothing to your concept of reality, it makes a world of proof for mine.

[Plasmatic]

Like I said Id agree to disagree and also respect the general topic while adknowledging that people have different levels of understanding ,and sometimes, trying to bridge that distance is a waste of time .

[MGmirkin]

Many thanks to Klypp for pointing out this wonderful article:

(Where Have You Gone, Isaac Newton?)
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=3147

I posted this article on the old forum. His lectures are awesome and he is writing a book on induction in physics which im dying to read!

I'd thought the title sounded familiar. Couldn't place it tho'...

~Michael

[junglelord]

Knowledge about EM is never a waste of time. Reverse Time EM Wave Theory and Technology is not so difficult as one might think. Its like saying Superconductors are too hard too understand because they are a macroscopic quantum device. The more one does learn on his own through proper study and personal investigation, not relying on others and their opinions, the sooner one gains knowledge vs carrying around information. Granted I have a degree and 10 years experience in Military and Commercial Electronics, but the lay person can learn EM theory. Collective Electrodynamics will teach you a million and one things, ask Steven O.

[Plasmatic]

Did someone say knowledge about EM was a waste of time? Was it in the artlicle this threads about? I must have missed it.

[junglelord]

When the ebbing tide retreats
Along the rocky shoreline
It leaves a trail of tidal pools
In a short-lived galaxy
Each microcosmic planet
A complete society

A simple kind mirror
To reflect upon our own
All the busy little creatures
Chasing out their destinies
Living in their pools
They soon forget about the sea...

Wheels within wheels in a spiral array
A pattern so grand and complex
Time after time we lose sight of the way
Our causes can't see their effects...

Wave after wave will flow with the tide
And bury the world as it does
Tide after tide will flow and recede
Leaving life to go on as it was...


Neil Peart/Natural Science

Knowledge is like the tide....it comes and goes. It comes easier to some and goes farther with others....