Comments on: Quantum to Cosmos, and a Tiny Bit Beyond

By: Meteord

Meteord — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:19:59 +0000

http://gooooglenews.blogspot.com/

to Cosmos!

By: Robert L. Oldershaw

Robert L. Oldershaw — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:23:39 +0000

Hi Marc,

If the Nielsen/Minomiya papers are not a less-than-subtle hoax, then the situation in theoretical physics is really bad!

You’re telling me that an adult scientist is arguing that nature’s abhorrence for the “Higgs boson” caused the failure at LHC via backwards causation? Egad!!!!! And “caused” the SSC to lose its funding??? Oh my Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore, or reality, for that matter.

If this is not a hoax, theoretical physics is past the excursion phase and is in full meltdown.

Yours in science,
RLO
http://www.amherst.edu/~rloldershaw

By: Aiya-Oba

Aiya-Oba — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:55:05 +0000

Talks generally revolve around the Oneness of the egg and the chicken, when and where at issue is Quantum and Cosmos.

By: Marc Sher

Marc Sher — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:54:30 +0000

Robert–

Holger’s work is not a spoof. He is very serious. I know him and we have discussed it, and he believes this (unless he’s the best actor I’ve ever seen). He just happens to be completely uninhibited. He also doesn’t feel that the field is “intellectually bankrupt”, and has been writing other papers (most recently on 12-top quark bound states) as well.

By: Sili

Sili — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:48:59 +0000

I don’t know why I felt the need to check who that moderator is. At least I was right.

Made the mistake of going to hear Holger once. Wayyyyy over my head back then. Prolly still would be, I’m afraid. Sad really, that so many of us went to look at the giraffe like that …

By: Harbles

Harbles — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:13:33 +0000

The Q to C fest. overlaps the Kitchener/Waterloo Oktoberfest by two days. If you're into Beer, Bratwurst and Om Pa Pa music you're set!

By: Robert L. Oldershaw

Robert L. Oldershaw — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:41:42 +0000

Marc,

The Nielsen paper appears to be an elaborate multi-paper spoof of the Sokal paper type.

Sokal demolished “deconstructionism ” and post-modernism in the area of literature by publishing a completely crackpot paper in their journal without the editors and reviewers realizing what he was doing, thereby revealing the intellectual bankrupcy of the post-modern paradigm.

It appears that Nielsen and his coauthor are doing the same thing to theoretical physics in order to show the current intellectual bankrupcy of that field.

Theoretical physics has become such a Tower of Babel in recent decades that it is very difficult to distinguish valid speculation from quackery. Apparently Overbye was a victim of this sad state of affairs.

Robert L. Oldershaw
http://www.amherst.edu~rloldershaw

By: Bee

Bee — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:47:07 +0000

Hope you have fun! I’m sorry to miss it.

By: Quantum to Cosmos, and a Tiny Bit Beyond | bootlegers101 Magazine

Quantum to Cosmos, and a Tiny Bit Beyond | bootlegers101 Magazine — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:39:28 +0000

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By: Marc

Marc — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:05:48 +0000

I wonder if Holger Nielsen will be there. He has some (”ahem”) interesting ideas about the arrow of time. Actually, Sean, you were too polite in the NY Times this morning. His idea is completely nuts, and I’m stunned that Dennis Overbye gave it any credibility.