Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the difficulty in locating a paper titled "Why Is Minkowski Spacetime Non-Euclidean?" by J M. Cronkhite, which is referenced by NIST. Participants explore various avenues for finding the paper, including library searches and online databases, while also speculating on the paper's existence and publication status.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Debate/contested
- Technical explanation
Main Points Raised
- One participant expresses frustration at not being able to find the referenced paper in various databases and their university library.
- Another participant notes that the paper is from 1970 and suggests that it may be accessible if a library has a paid subscription to the American Journal of Physics.
- Some participants speculate that the paper may have been a preprint that was submitted but not accepted for publication.
- There are suggestions to check physical library archives for the 1970 issue of the journal.
- Concerns are raised about the possibility of a citation error, with one participant suggesting that the reference might point to a different journal or a mis-transcribed source.
- Participants discuss the limitations of the NIST reference and the lack of corroborating evidence from other sources like Google Scholar.
- One participant shares a link to a related discussion on Stack Exchange, indicating that the topic may have broader implications in the context of Minkowski spacetime.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants generally agree that the paper is difficult to locate and may not exist in the expected form. However, there is no consensus on the reasons for this, with multiple competing views regarding its publication status and citation accuracy.
Contextual Notes
Participants note the potential for citation errors and the challenges of accessing older academic papers, especially those that may not have been published or are behind paywalls. There is also mention of the historical context of preprints and informal publications in the field.