Publishing as a citizen scientist

[mitchell porter]

@bugs007, have you heard of vixra.org? It is like arxiv.org, the preprint server that academic physicists use, except that anyone can post there. If you write something, and don't want to host it on a personal website, you can place it there. Your name, and the time you uploaded the essay, will be preserved there, and meanwhile you can go about submitting to journals.

I agree with the skeptical response you are getting, and I would add that there is already a vast literature of people proposing alternative explanations of quantum mechanics; if your idea is so simple, it has probably been anticipated decades ago e.g. in a "Foundations of Physics" paper, or possibly even a philosophy paper if it doesn't involve calculation. However, if you are still determined to just get it out there, then vixra is the simple answer.

 

[Evo]

@bugs007, have you heard of vixra.org? It is like arxiv.org, the preprint server that academic physicists use, except that anyone can post there. If you write something, and don't want to host it on a personal website, you can place it there. Your name, and the time you uploaded the essay, will be preserved there, and meanwhile you can go about submitting to journals.

I agree with the skeptical response you are getting, and I would add that there is already a vast literature of people proposing alternative explanations of quantum mechanics; if your idea is so simple, it has probably been anticipated decades ago e.g. in a "Foundations of Physics" paper, or possibly even a philosophy paper if it doesn't involve calculation. However, if you are still determined to just get it out there, then vixra is the simple answer.

@bugs007 Just be aware that vixra is considered a depository for crackpottery, that's what happens when "anyone" can post there. But it would definitely be a place for your work.

 

[jrmichler]

There is more to publishing a paper than just writing down the idea. You need to review current thinking, which requires references. You need to show the shortcomings of current thinking. Then you need to explain your idea, and how it explains all experimental results. Then you need to put it all into the appropriate format. It is far better to team up with somebody that knows how to do all that, and has the background to understand your idea and how to get it published.

I am doing exactly this. I retired two years ago. Last summer, I met a research scientist working in the area of water budgets in inland lakes. I had zero experience in that area, but I did have a solid background in instrumentation and design. We (he, me, and two other authors) are right now finalizing the draft of a paper to be submitted to a peer reviewed journal within the next 2 or 3 weeks. It appears that I will be the second author. And it sure beats sitting around in a rocking chair watching TV, playing golf, playing sheepshead, or other retirement time wasters.

 

[Evo]

This thread has run it's course, there is really no more information to give, so thread closed.