Common Misconception 3, Part 2: 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.

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Today’s scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off 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

When there is no experimental test, and observation is limited, a purely mathematical idea can masquerade as reality. The gravity-centric universe of 20th-century theory gave us many illustrations of this dilemma. When astronomers found that the rotation of galaxies violated their gravitational models, they saved appearances by turning to something invisible and “dark matter” entered the astronomer’s lexicon. The theorists imagined the existence of invisible matter wherever it was needed to make the gravitational description of galaxies work. Their cover story succeeded. The scientific media began to report “discoveries” of dark matter. Later some reported that astronomers could “see” it. They “saw” it by using additional math, enhanced by computer simulations.

The popular idea of black holes arose in much the same way. It happened as we began to observe the intense energies at the centers of galaxies. The energies were so high that gravity could not account for them. Theorists were then tempted to use a mathematical sleight of hand, “discovering” the terrifying grandeur of black holes. Indisputably, the mathematics of black holes violated all classical physics. The calculations even provoked a measure of humor when theorists divided by zero. Yet the theory of black holes caught on—a fictional projection arising solely from theoretical equations.

If we know what we’re calculating, math works. And not just in manufacturing, where precision is paramount. Planets and moons move on highly predictable orbits. Based on gravity alone, we guide space probes to planets, comets, and asteroids. We measure their “mass” by their gravitational tug on spacecraft. The math is impressively accurate. What is there to argue about?
The issue arises from the direction of modern discovery. Many tenets of gravity-centric theory are contradicted by great surprises of the space age. That realization underpins the Electric Universe challenge to standard theory: electrical theorists remind us that when an entire paradigm is thrown into doubt, it’s time to revisit all assumptions. This is so even if the accepted paradigm has hardened around its mathematical foundations. It’s time to look again at the evidence. Pay attention to new data. And most importantly, follow the surprises, the things that don’t fit. Evidence will often shout its message to us, as key patterns emerge, previously unseen.

The most important new directions in physics will likely involve multidisciplinary pattern recognition to break the momentum of institutionalized theory. Questions too long ignored must be brought front and center. Direct evidence then rises to the top, not mathematics. First things first. Do the observed effects arise reasonably from the newly-proposed causes? Does the new perspective unify facts that previously appeared contradictory? How well do the new data from space resonate with controlled laboratory experiments?

Mathematics will follow as a new paradigm unfolds. Highly capable mathematicians are now coming into the Thunderbolts Project, attracted to new opportunities to quantify our Electric Universe.