Crackpot Definition and 44 Threads

Hi all, Here's my background: I graduated with BS/MS in physics and engineering. At that point, I think I could have continued to grad school in theoretical physics at any top department, given I was doing quite well. For family reasons, I picked an engineering career. Having worked long...

OK, I'll do my best to prevent this post from looking like a rant... So, I resigned from my previous job in July, making the second resignation in 5 months. The reason being I couldn't live with my supervisors dishing out orders without considering the feasibility at all. For two years, I keep...

I admit that I have made the crackpot mistake (well, I was in middle school, in my defense). I've never quite understood why you guys get so annoyed. Now I do. I was scrolling across Instagram and I found this physics account, and I thought "oh, yay, physics!" Well, you can see for yourself...

Is it possible for a photon to be so energetic that it forms a black hole? If so, how fast would that black hole be moving?

Norman Wildberger is a mathematician against the ambiguous rules of infinity and limits, and is against the real numbers in their entirety. AFAIK he is trying to create an alternative to analysis that uses only rationals. I'm currently under the impression that his criticisms are sound but moot...

Hello all, Is this a thing? I understand that a theory of quantum gravity is necessary to explain the physics at the core of a black hole, but it seems a black hole is the only environment energetic and dense enough to ignite a mass-energy feedback loop where colliding photons release the...

A very interesting blog post (from @hossi). A program that helps sorting arXiv submissions into categories frequently struggles with crackpot submissions - because they do not fit in anywhere. The program was never designed for it, but is helps finding them.

You know someone's a crackpot when you're at an undergraduate level and you can still see how wrong they are. Like, using basic terminology incorrectly and everything. The whole works. It's facepalm-worthy. How do you deal with that? I mean, I can't just ignore it when this person is...

I need help. I don't know what to do. Every time I see a crackpot posting on PF I'm going into an ecstatic state of utmost glee. I gobble up the convoluted effusions as if they were celestial ambrosia. I wallow in the pungent fragrance of confused and misapplied terminology. I feel my soul...

Dear Friends, I want people to give their views criticize and improve what I place here. Vixra is an open-access journal created to circumvent the issue of endorsement on arXiv. It does not have endorsement issues and is open to all. The reasons...

Hey! Some time ago i saw this video: [crackpot link deleted] And, although I'm a comp sci guy and did studied physics on the first two years, i could say i have almost none knowledge of physics, i mean, real knowledge, not just how to make my guy jump on a 3D game. I wonder if this guy is just...

This is primarily for fun, but given our experiences here at PF, it could be an excellent crackpot detector tool! Next time you read a post that sounds a bit off, refer to this index. It was compiled by PF staff and science advisors. The higher the point value, the greater the chance it's...

I'm sorry - I know this is archived somewhere around here but I couldn't find it ... Can anyone give me a link for the set of tests used to identify a crackpot (either the theory or its author). I've forgotten who had it on his website - someone at Princeton, maybe?? I've got a live one on...

Dr." Douglas Graham : Is He Another Crackpot He touts 80/10/10 which is 80 % of your calories from sweet fruit with a few dark greens thrown in , 10% from protein and 10 % from fat. What do you think of Douglas Graham? Internet charlatan or not?

He seems very influential but at the same time a lot of his ideas seem inherently unfalsifiable and a bit on the crackpot side (it from bit, PAP, delayed choice, etc). Is this accurate on the whole?

Is there a suspected crackpot somewhere, then it's time to play bingo! Check the crackpot post if something in the below table occurs and then mark the corresponding square. The first to form a row, a column or all four corners wins! :biggrin:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/293/a-little-bit-of-knowledge (The story about the crackpot starts at at the 30:40 mark.) Act 3 of this episode of This American Life is a story about an actual crackpot, with a crackpot theory, told from the point of view of a friend of...

I came across a curious site on this topic: http://e-infinity-energy.blogspot.com/2011/01/t-hooft-veltman-dimensional.html On one hand, the blog history is filled with non-mainstream ideas. (They invented a new subfield called E-infinity.) On the other hand, the people there seem to be tenured...

I just want to know what the general consensus is on this guy before I really get into his stuff? Reading little excerpts on his stuff seems kind of borderline to me but maybe I am just over-thinking it? PS: If this isn't the right forum to post this question then please feel free to move it...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/12/07/o.science.mysteries.not.solved/index.html?hpt=C2 Maybe some of you will get a kick out of this. Or maybe it will take your faith in humanity down a notch. Edit by Ivan: The article cited has now been changed and no longer has all the pseudo-scientific...

Was thinking about the paid parental leave schemes. I have come under the impression that they are unfair (unfair under any system) as they stand now. The fact that it exists forces profit maximising firms to give lower wages to women - they incur a risk premium. This is because women, from...

Someone in my family is suffering from arthritis and they heard about this product: Alevo Drink which is based on herbals that's suppose to alleviate the symptoms http://www.alveodrink.com/ My first reaction is this is crackpot meant to steal your money. The cheapest vile there costs over...

Is Kurzweil considered a quack (crackpot) by the scientific community?

I just had the pleasure of reporting a particularly fascinating crackpot thread. Probably over 2000 words and many images, seemed to have taken a while to put together. I kind of wish I hadn't reported it so more people could see it, it was that fascinating, but now deleted. It began by saying...

I think this is great for CNN. Dobbs was not a respectable journalist. http://www.ajc.com/business/grand-exit-for-cnns-197683.html?cxtype=rss_news_128746 Like so many pseudo-journalists on TV these days, Dobbs and his show were loaded with bias. Just check any poll of his to see how...

Hey guys. Just before you read this, let it be known that I am merely a 16 year old, and so these are basically ideas from one who is not as educated in the field of astrophysics as others, so forgive me if this concept may sound utterly rubbish to you. Ok. So here it is. Neutrinos. There...

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0812/0812.0537v1.pdf An amusing paper by Martın Lopez-Corredoira, a post-doc at the Instituto de Astrofísica, Tenerife: Garth

Hey, I've seen this "Null Physics" book advertised in magazines like Scientific American (which is a rather shameful move on SciAm's part) and it basically seems like some guy's got some crackpot theory and is trying to circumvent any actual academic scrutiny that would come by publishing in...

And applying it to leading edge? research http://physicsbuzz.physicscentral.com/2006/10/string-theory-loop-quantum-gravity-and.html May be this is some what tongue in cheek? or are these theories open to crackpottery.

Crackpot argument on Physicsforums gets published!? Wow, I remember https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=1252374&postcount=71" In the paper he repeats his arguments championing an interpretation of D.R. Gagnon et al., Guided-wave measurement of the one-way speed of light, Physical...

Following on from a poster asking precisely what constitutes a crank, here is a companion piece to mathwonk/zapperZ's 'So you want to be a mathematician/physicist.' First, by reading this, you have disqualifed yourself. Cranks don't want to be cranks, they genuinely believe in what they do...

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html Doesnt point number 37 hint at string theory by what the likes of smolin and woit says? And btw, I am no expert in this and I announce that all i have read is a few "layman" books and have no heck of idea what string theory actually is and my...

How do you keep it 'real' in physics? Seems like some of the directions of modern physics are going into higher and higher dimensions like string theory for example. There's so many crazy sounding theories out there. How do you know identify a down to earth, well grounded theory from...

This was something I discovered the other day. http://www.pakin.org/complaint I bet many people will buy it. Well until they google the first line :smile:

I was browsing the periodical section at university library a few minutes ago and found a journal called "Physics Essays". It purports itself to be "An International Journal Dedicated to Fundamental Questions in Physics". I figured it might be interesting, so I picked it up and read a few...

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html :smile: :smile: :smile:

I'm sure you've all heard a lot of them in your time, so share with me some of the most rediculous ones, or ones that amuse you most. I just stumbled across this little beauty: http://www.nov55.com/geol.html The person explains in vaguely how soil formation through the means of breakdown...

I've just scurried back to my hotel room until it's time to head off for my conference...I am not enough of a morning person to deal with the crackpot wandering around the hotel lobby interrupting people trying to eat breakfast. He's going to cut healthcare costs by 50% by eliminating the...

for those of you who haven't been following the thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=23975 i have been twice exiled to theory development because of my theories scare people. Do you think I'm a crack-pot?

Andrew Parker is a zoologist at Oxford. Apparently, he has put out a book that promotes that idea that the evolution of vision played a key role in the evolution that came afterward. I don't know, since I've never read the book, but only a summary, but it appears that he thinks that seeing...

The CRACKPOT Index A simple method for rating potentially revolutionary contributions to physics. A -5 point starting credit. 1 point for every statement that is widely agreed on to be false. 2 points for every statement that is clearly vacuous. 3 points for every statement that is...

How does gravity work? It keeps my feet on the ground, what do I care. A story about planet Q and W: Imagine planet Q millions of light years away from planet W. Each planet has a core that is positively charged and a moon (negatively charged) that orbits the two planets in a perfectly...

Okay, this seems like it should work, but I know that it ought not too. Please tell me what you think. My idea is for a device which will be able to perpetually produce hydroelectric power. It works based on the ideas of cappilary action. Start with a large pool of water, and take a...

I want that you tell me your crackpots ideas. I'm curious. Ideas against the mainstream, but that can be hidden pearls. There are some of mine: -For me the Universe is or an alive organism living in its own cosmos, or a creation/experiment of some kind of upper intelligence. I'm not sure what...