Laid-Back Surfer Dude May Be Next Einstein

[bONES]

not sure if this has been posted here or not

A surfer dude with no fixed address may be this century's Einstein.

A. Garrett Lisi, a physicist who divides his time between surfing in Maui and teaching snowboarding in Lake Tahoe, has come up with what may be the Grand Unified Theory.

That's the "holy grail" of physics that scientists have been searching for ever since Albert Einstein presented his General Theory of Relativity nearly 100 years ago.

Even more remarkable is that Lisi, who has a Ph.D. but no permanent university affiliation, solves the problem without resorting to exotic dimensions, string theory or exceptionally complex mathematics.

story here

[bONES]

[Ol'Hickster]

Hmm I feel real dumb now I dont understand any of this

[Asparagus]

I guess we'll have to wait and see what LHC has to say about the Higg's boson.

[YearsAlongTheSea]

I like the notion but it seems a little fishy and far-fetched that 20 of the atoms are imaginary...

[bONES]

I like the notion but it seems a little fishy and far-fetched that 20 of the atoms are imaginary...

what..you don't have 20 little imaginary friends?

[Thorgnor]

Instaed of positing imaginary forces like gravity I don't understand why more research isn't focused on proven possibilities like sympathetic resonance or a greater than expected reaction of electromagnetic or nuclear forces? Gravity is two-hundred or so years old and still seems to be a word that describes a set of maths with as yet unknown causes. Not a particularly enlightening theory outside of pretty math that only a few understand. And if the imaginary elements turn out to be just that all we have is another attractive misleading research program added to a debate that again only a few people really understand. I don't get it at all.

[Im going home Donny]

I like the notion but it seems a little fishy and far-fetched that 20 of the atoms are imaginary...

what..you don't have 20 little imaginary friends?

Who doesn't have 20 imaginary friends? I have imaginary friends in spades if you need any I'll send 'em over when they are drunk and confused...they are kinda stuck up when they're sober.

[hamilton]

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory

August 17, 2005 | Issue 41•33

KANSAS CITY, KS—As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held "theory of gravity" is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling.

"Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational force, but because a higher intelligence, 'God' if you will, is pushing them down," said Gabriel Burdett, who holds degrees in education, applied Scripture, and physics from Oral Roberts University.

Burdett added: "Gravity—which is taught to our children as a law—is founded on great gaps in understanding. The laws predict the mutual force between all bodies of mass, but they cannot explain that force. Isaac Newton himself said, 'I suspect that my theories may all depend upon a force for which philosophers have searched all of nature in vain.' Of course, he is alluding to a higher power."

Founded in 1987, the ECFR is the world's leading institution of evangelical physics, a branch of physics based on literal interpretation of the Bible.

According to the ECFR paper published simultaneously this week in the International Journal Of Science and the adolescent magazine God's Word For Teens!, there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by secular gravity alone, including such mysteries as how angels fly, how Jesus ascended into Heaven, and how Satan fell when cast out of Paradise.

The ECFR, in conjunction with the Christian Coalition and other Christian conservative action groups, is calling for public-school curriculums to give equal time to the Intelligent Falling theory. They insist they are not asking that the theory of gravity be banned from schools, but only that students be offered both sides of the issue "so they can make an informed decision."

"We just want the best possible education for Kansas' kids," Burdett said.

Proponents of Intelligent Falling assert that the different theories used by secular physicists to explain gravity are not internally consistent. Even critics of Intelligent Falling admit that Einstein's ideas about gravity are mathematically irreconcilable with quantum mechanics. This fact, Intelligent Falling proponents say, proves that gravity is a theory in crisis.

"Let's take a look at the evidence," said ECFR senior fellow Gregory Lunsden."In Matthew 15:14, Jesus says, 'And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.' He says nothing about some gravity making them fall—just that they will fall. Then, in Job 5:7, we read, 'But mankind is born to trouble, as surely as sparks fly upwards.' If gravity is pulling everything down, why do the sparks fly upwards with great surety? This clearly indicates that a conscious intelligence governs all falling."

Critics of Intelligent Falling point out that gravity is a provable law based on empirical observations of natural phenomena. Evangelical physicists, however, insist that there is no conflict between Newton's mathematics and Holy Scripture.

"Closed-minded gravitists cannot find a way to make Einstein's general relativity match up with the subatomic quantum world," said Dr. Ellen Carson, a leading Intelligent Falling expert known for her work with the Kansan Youth Ministry. "They've been trying to do it for the better part of a century now, and despite all their empirical observation and carefully compiled data, they still don't know how."

"Traditional scientists admit that they cannot explain how gravitation is supposed to work," Carson said. "What the gravity-agenda scientists need to realize is that 'gravity waves' and 'gravitons' are just secular words for 'God can do whatever He wants.'"

Some evangelical physicists propose that Intelligent Falling provides an elegant solution to the central problem of modern physics.

"Anti-falling physicists have been theorizing for decades about the 'electromagnetic force,' the 'weak nuclear force,' the 'strong nuclear force,' and so-called 'force of gravity,'" Burdett said. "And they tilt their findings toward trying to unite them into one force. But readers of the Bible have already known for millennia what this one, unified force is: His name is Jesus."

The Onion

[Thorgnor]

even worse.

[boiler]

another attractive misleading research program added to a debate that again only a few people really understand.

I don't think this guy had much of a research "program" going. It just sounds like a guy with his own thoughts. You can't blame a guy for essentially just coming up with something and says "looks good", and decides to share it to see what other people think.

[Schwa.]

Instaed of positing imaginary forces like gravity I don't understand why more research isn't focused on proven possibilities like sympathetic resonance or a greater than expected reaction of electromagnetic or nuclear forces? Gravity is two-hundred or so years old and still seems to be a word that describes a set of maths with as yet unknown causes. Not a particularly enlightening theory outside of pretty math that only a few understand. And if the imaginary elements turn out to be just that all we have is another attractive misleading research program added to a debate that again only a few people really understand. I don't get it at all.

...said Einstein's critics

[Thorgnor]

By research program I mean the putting forward of a theory to be tested in a systematic and "researched" "program". Which is exactly what he's doing.

Einstein needs a bath and a shave, hippy.

[Schwa.]

[Thorgnor]

Looks like he needs to shave the sweaters off his tongue too.

Fukken hippies!

[bradm]

Instaed of positing imaginary forces like gravity

The effects of gravity are easily observed, and well modeled by science (esp. Newton's and Einstein's theories). Why do you consider it "imaginary"? Are electric and magnetic forces more or less "imaginary" than the force gravity?

And note that the math used in calculations involving gravity (especialy Einstein's theories of relativity, but even Newton's theory of gravity) may be difficult, but it meets one key objective of science: it produces quantitative predictions that accurately match the results of experiments. As well, know that GPS, which these days is an increasingly common, mundane, everyday technology, relies on Einstein's theories of relativity to give accurate answers. From

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gps#Relativity

The atomic clocks on board the GPS satellites are precisely tuned, making the system a practical engineering application of the scientific theory of relativity in a real-world environment.

I don't understand why more research isn't focused on proven possibilities like sympathetic resonance or a greater than expected reaction of electromagnetic or nuclear forces?

What do these terms mean? What, exactly, is a "reaction of electromagnetic force", how is it calculated (using which theory), and in which experiment is the measured force "greater than expected"?

Aloha,

Brad

[Davey Boy 2.0]

wow you could cut the sexual tension in this thread with a knife