Common Misconception 3, Part 1: If you’re not doing math, you’re not doing science.
Answer: Science does not begin with mathematics, but with direct observation, experiment, and insights into cause-and-effect relationships.
Many of today’s mathematical constructs were devised early in the 20th century to help explain aspects of gravity-centric theory. Now, gravity is no longer sovereign on the macrocosmic scale. The cosmic “container” of objects in space is not an empty vacuum. Nor is it the neutral plasma medium that theorists once assumed based on limited observations.
We now see massive flows of charged particles, ranging from immeasurably subtle to explosively energetic — a universe more hugely complex than most theorists of the 20th century imagined. Gravitational models, based on a single Newtonian equation, can no longer describe things now displayed in the heavens across the full electromagnetic spectrum.
The new discoveries underpinning the Electric Universe paradigm will find their support in new mathematical models as well. But these models will work only by accommodating the vast complexity of electrical circuitry in space.
The 20th century’s experts on plasma science drew some remarkable conclusions. Based on things learned in the laboratory, they offered a new understanding of electrical phenomena in space. Most prominent of these pioneers was Nobel Laureate Hannes Alfvén, whose work laid the foundations for plasma cosmology. While supporting his work with rigorous mathematical analysis, Alfvén repeatedly warned against mathematical flights of fancy disconnected from observations in the laboratory.
Nevertheless, the supremacy of mathematics is a common theme in popular science today, harking back to the famous quote by Galileo: “Nature’s great book is written in the language of mathematics.” But many leading scientists have noted the danger when theorists place mathematics above observation and critical inquiry.
"Today’s scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality." --Nikola Tesla
"If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the physical world." --Vannevar Bush
"Mathematics is well and good but nature keeps dragging us around by the nose. --Albert Einstein
This "misconception" is incorrect. I will explain why by example.
E.G.
Assume the speed limit on your street is 30 mph. You believe some cars are going faster, and want to report the violations to the police. You observe all day. How do you know which cars to report? Unless you collect data and do some math, you don't know how fast the cars are moving. It's cheating to use a radar because it does math, rather than you.
Math is a language that allows scientists to communicate and understand what they observe. Without language our culture wound be locked in the stone age. Without math we would be riding horses. Making a good steam engine required math and the science of thermodynamics.
Engineers can use math to design a steam engine but math cannot test the engine. It also won’t persuade the buyer that the engine will run.
The Big Bang model is both untested and untestable.
Posted by starwatcher-alThe occultation of Mars on the 7th.
Posted by starwatcher-alThe occultation of Mars on the 7th.
Posted by starwatcher-alSolar minimum was in 2019 so the sun is ramping up in flares, spots and prominences.
Posted by starwatcher-alI missed the early phases of the eclipse but the clouds mostly left during totality. All in all a great eclipse. Next one is Nov. 8-22
Posted by starwatcher-alI missed the early phases of the eclipse but the clouds mostly left during totality. All in all a great eclipse. Next one is Nov. 8-22
Posted by RobecologyFor those following the JWST.
Posted by AnonySchmoose The post-launch set-up of the new James Webb telescope has gone very well.
Posted by HumanistJohnImages taken with Stellina (80 mm): M33 Triangulum Galaxy M1 Crab Nebula NGC281 Pacman Nebula in Cassiopeia NGC 6992 Veil Nebula in Cygnus
Posted by HumanistJohnImages taken with Stellina (80 mm): M33 Triangulum Galaxy M1 Crab Nebula NGC281 Pacman Nebula in Cassiopeia NGC 6992 Veil Nebula in Cygnus
Posted by HumanistJohnImages taken with Stellina (80 mm): M33 Triangulum Galaxy M1 Crab Nebula NGC281 Pacman Nebula in Cassiopeia NGC 6992 Veil Nebula in Cygnus
Posted by HumanistJohnImages taken with Stellina (80 mm): M33 Triangulum Galaxy M1 Crab Nebula NGC281 Pacman Nebula in Cassiopeia NGC 6992 Veil Nebula in Cygnus
Posted by HumanistJohnImages taken October 2nd 2021 with Stellina 1.
Posted by HumanistJohnImages taken October 2nd 2021 with Stellina 1.
Posted by HumanistJohnImages taken October 2nd 2021 with Stellina 1.
Posted by starwatcher-al Did you know that you can see Venus in the daytime?
Posted by starwatcher-alOne of these days I think that I'll figure out this Nikon.