- #1
- 3,580
- 107
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
An amusing paper by Martın Lopez-Corredoira, a post-doc at the Instituto de Astrofísica, Tenerife:
Abstract. Certain results of observational cosmology cast critical doubt on
the foundations of standard cosmology but leave most cosmologists untroubled.
Alternative cosmological models that differ from the Big Bang have been published
and defended by heterodox scientists; however, most cosmologists do not
heed these. This may be because standard theory is correct and all other ideas
and criticisms are incorrect, but it is also to a great extent due to sociological
phenomena such as the “snowball effect” or “groupthink”. We might wonder
whether cosmology, the study of the Universe as a whole, is a science like other
branches of physics or just a dominant ideology.
There are two main psychological profiles of cosmologists, with gradations of grey between them:
Heterodox: possessed by the complex of unappreciated genius, too much “ego”, normally working alone/individually or in very small groups, creative, intelligent, non-conformist. His/her (mostly males) dream is to create a new paradigm in science which completely changes our view of the Universe. Many of them try to demonstrate that Einstein was wrong, maybe because he is the symbol of genius and defeating his theory would mean that they are geniuses above Einstein. Most of them are crackpots.
Orthodox: dominated by the groupthink, following a leader’s opinion as in the “Naked king” tale, good workers performing monotonous tasks without ideas in large groups, specialists in a small field which they know very well, conformist, domestic. His/her dream is getting a permanent position at an university or research center, to be leader of a project, to do astropolitics (see L´opez-Corredoira 2008). Most of them are like sheep (or geese), some of them with vocation of shepherds too.
The sociological reasons for favouring orthodox proposals might be related to the preference of domesticity in our civilization. Sheep rather than crackpots are preferred. Finding a promising change of paradigm closer to the truth among thousands of crazy proposals is very difficult; in orthodoxy, although absolute truth is not guaranteed, at least a consensus version of the truth is offered.
Garth
Last edited by a moderator: