Nullius in verba

Short post today on one of the reasons why I started this blog. If you have been reading any of the previous posts you will realise that I tend to have a common theme running through each of them, it is this...

I have doubts about almost every current theory in Physics. Sometimes this is backed up by experiment that casts doubt on the original idea, sometimes because the idea just doesn't make sense. Other times it's just that I refuse to accept something just because everyone tells me it is so.

Take mathematics. I knew a physics lecturer once who had practically no time for mathematicians. Said they were a bit like alcohol, a good servant but a poor master. Mathematics has given us some great tools for investigating the universe, but ultimately, mathematics is just that, mathematics. This is fundementally different to physics and should be held in check when required.

Another thing I really dislike is actually the use of certain terms like "Standard", as in the "Standard Model". We know this theory has a number of .... let's call them "issues" and yet we give it a name that indicates that it is right and well accepted, which it isn't. This is also true of theories like the Big Bang, Black Holes, Dark Matter, now being described as "mature". I know what it implies, but what does that mean? Nothing of course. Take the Big Bang, ask the question, "Well, what was before the Big Bang" and you might actually get the following, totally ridiculous answer...

"It doesn't make sense to ask what was before, because time didn't exist before the Big Bang."

Translated,

"We haven't got a clue."

Another reason I have a problem with terms like "mature" is that they actually hinder scientific descovery. You think I am wrong? Aristotle came up with ideas that were thought right for almost 2000 years. They went practically unquestioned because he was a great thinker and his ideas had had time to mature, solidify, stood the test of time etc. They were wrong! It was only when people like Galileo came along and had the strength of mind to question did things move forward again.

We had the same problem with Newton's ideas, almost 200 years before Einstein put the cat in with the pigeons. Now we have the legacy of Einstein. His he correct? About some of it, yes, I think he is. About most of his work, nope, I don't think he is and people should not feel indimidated or be ignored when they stand up and provide ideas that contradict him.

Nor should people accept ideas just because it has a name that makes it sound like it must be true. Chances are it isn't. "Mature" should be reserved for use with cheese and wine, not Physics.

Take nobody's word for it.