Hello Fellow Travelers - Just another random human here.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lunaril
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
A new member joined the Physics Forums seeking discussions on physics after searching for relevant communities online. She expressed an eagerness to learn and engage in educated conversations, despite facing challenges due to her disability. However, she encountered restrictions on discussing certain topics, specifically Superfluid Vacuum Theory, and was informed that personal theories are not permitted. Moderators emphasized the importance of credible sources for questions and clarified that the forum aims to maintain scientific rigor. The member felt unwelcome due to these limitations and questioned the forum's suitability for her inquiries.
Lunaril
How did you find PF?: I was searching duckduckgo for Physics forums where I could reach out and talk to people who either have an interest or background in physics.

I'm a 43-year old woman living in rural America, with a B.S. in Clinical Psych, a permanent disability, 3 cats and my wife of 13 years. I've always had an interest in the sciences, enjoy learning, thinking, and expanding my understanding on a wide range of topics. I had a semi-eidetic memory prior to being disabled, and feel like I have to put more effort into that these days, but the enjoyment of learning something new, or correcting my current understanding of something, is worth the effort. I take a logicians approach to thinking, or at least that is my intention, and really only came to this forum for educated, informative discussions to further my understanding and horizons. Thank you for having a space like this and I look forward to learning something new.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Hello and :welcome: !

Have fun and stay curious!
 
Thank you :) Unfortunately, I have been told I'm not allowed to ask questions related to Superfluid Vacuum Theory, I guess it is a banned subject according to a moderator. I am also not allowed to ask questions where I pose any kind of theory of my own understanding when seeking clarification or education. This is according to PeterDonis a moderator who immediately sent me this reply when I asked a question.

Unacceptable references or topics

Hi Lunaril,

In regards to your thread/post: https://www.physicsforums.com/posts/6862874/

To preserve the quality rating of Physics Forums, in some sub forums we require references to be from reputable sources such as credible scientific journals. Sources such as major news site, wikis or credible organizations will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Personal theories and personal speculations are not permitted.

We also ban certain topics from discussion. These topics can be found in our rules below:

Please view our forum rules guidelines for more information.

Thanks for your understanding and participation at Physics Forums!

Moderation Staff

Apparently this is a banned topic, which I find odd in itself, as it is a physics theory, posited on a physics forum, seeking an answer to a physics question, and because this was the immediate response I received when asking a question, I can only presume this probably isn't the right forum to come to if I have actual questions and want to gain understanding. Perhaps that oversight is mine, as I should have done more research on the forum before joining, in any case, I apologize for my posts and though I appreciate your welcome, it seems I and others like myself who have questions are not entirely welcome.
 
Lunaril said:
Thank you :) Unfortunately, I have been told I'm not allowed to ask questions related to Superfluid Vacuum Theory, I guess it is a banned subject according to a moderator. I am also not allowed to ask questions where I pose any kind of theory of my own understanding when seeking clarification or education. This is according to PeterDonis a moderator who immediately sent me this reply when I asked a question.

There are quite a few things that are to be addressed here.

It is not necessarily the topic, your opinion, or lack of knowledge that matters, it could well have been the source or the lack thereof. We are a scientific website and require serious scientific references in our technical forums. This means that "I have read" or even "I have read on sciencealert.com" are no acceptable references. And of course, this holds true even more for "personal" theories. If you have a question, then phrase it as that. If you confront us with what you have made up to make you understand something, then we close such threads. There are simply far too many people out there who think they know something without ever having studied the subject they theorize about. We cannot educate every single one of them. Our main goal is to provide scientific facts, and many of them can only be understood at the level of a qualified study.

This doesn't mean that we will not answer your questions, but they shouldn't be phrased as your personal understanding which is very likely (not even) wrong. Mark such threads as "B" and ask your question without setting up a context in which it cannot be answered due to many false assumptions. In the best case, you have found a serious reference on the internet and we can help you to understand it. Popular science articles, however, are normally not a good reference since they have to make far too many simplifications in order to address a broad readership.

I know, it is complicated. That's the prize we pay for being a website to help students and explain science as it is taught at universities to our best current knowledge.
 
  • Like
Likes Doc Al, PeterDonis, Tom.G and 2 others
I want to thank those members who interacted with me a couple of years ago in two Optics Forum threads. They were @Drakkith, @hutchphd, @Gleb1964, and @KAHR-Alpha. I had something I wanted the scientific community to know and slipped a new idea in against the rules. Thank you also to @berkeman for suggesting paths to meet with academia. Anyway, I finally got a paper on the same matter as discussed in those forum threads, the fat lens model, got it peer-reviewed, and IJRAP...
This came up in my job today (UXP). Never thought to raise it here on PF till now. Hyperlinks really should be underlined at all times. PF only underlines them when they are rolled over. Colour alone (especially dark blue/purple) makes it difficult to spot a hyperlink in a large block of text (or even a small one). Not everyone can see perfectly. Even if they don't suffer from colour deficiency, not everyone has the visual acuity to distinguish two very close shades of text. Hover actions...
About 20 years ago, in my mid-30s (and with a BA in economics and a master's in business), I started taking night classes in physics hoping to eventually earn the science degree I'd always wanted but never pursued. I found physics forums and used it to ask questions I was unable to get answered from my textbooks or class lectures. Unfortunately, work and life got in the way and I never got further the freshman courses. Well, here it is 20 years later. I'm in my mid-50s now, and in a...
Back
Top