Revolutionary New Theory of Jibber-Jabber?

[Steven Taylor]

Has anyone heard about this (see the following)?

'A bold paper which has highly impressed some of the world's top physicists and been published in the August issue of Foundations of Physics Letters, seems set to change the way we think about the nature of time and its relationship to motion and classical and quantum mechanics. Much to the science world's astonishment, the work also appears to provide solutions to Zeno of Elea's famous motion paradoxes, almost 2500 years after they were originally conceived by the ancient Greek philosopher. In doing so, its unlikely author, who originally attended university for just 6 months, is drawing comparisons to Albert Einstein and beginning to field enquiries from some of the world's leading science media. This is contrast to being sniggered at by local physicists when he originally approached them with the work, and once aware it had been accepted for publication, one informing the journal of the author's lack of formal qualification in an attempt to have them reject it.

'In the paper, "Time and Classical and Quantum Mechanics: Indeterminacy vs. Discontinuity", Peter Lynds, a 27 year old broadcasting school tutor from Wellington, New Zealand, establishes that there is a necessary trade off of all precisely determined physical values at a time, for their continuity through time, and in doing so, appears to throw age old assumptions about determined instantaneous physical magnitude and time on their heads. A number of other outstanding issues to do with time in physics are also addressed, including cosmology and an argument against the theory of Imaginary time by British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.'

Personally, I think the whole thing's much-ado-about nothing--or just outright quackery--but I'd like to hear what others think. I'm including links to the full article quoted above, as well as to the paper the article refers to.

Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-07/icc-gwi072703.php

Paper: http://users.skynet.be/kurtgode/ext-2003-045.pdf

 

[Brad_Ad23]

Yes we have heard of this before. In fact there are several threads on it. Just look for any thread about time near the top or Peter Lynds. Nothing very new, but still there are some points I am sure that will be fleshed out by someone.

 

[FZ+]

Quick point on the "Einstein" comparison...

The full quote in which the comparison is made was: (quoting from memory)

"Like Einstein's famous 1906 paper, the validity of this hypothesis is not immediately destroyed by the circular basis of his argument."

Not quite as impressive, no?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Fz+

Erm...here's the quote I read:

"Author's work resembles Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity", said a referee of the paper, while Andrei Khrennikov, Prof. of Applied Mathematics at Växjö University in Sweden and Director of ICMM, said, "I find this paper very interesting and important to clarify some fundamental aspects of classical and quantum physical formalisms..."

 

[FZ+]

Yes, there's where the misunderstanding stemmed from.

The first part of the sentence:

"Author's work resembles Einstein's 1905 special theory of relativity", said a referee of the paper

has nothing to do with the second part of the sentence.

while Andrei Khrennikov, Prof. of Applied Mathematics at Växjö University in Sweden and Director of ICMM, said, "I find this paper very interesting and important to clarify some fundamental aspects of classical and quantum physical formalisms..."

The first sentence referred only to the style of argument used, not to the actual quality of the paper.

The full first quote read... (proper quote this time. From http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,1017995,00.html)

Lynds denies orchestrating attempts to stir up undue interest in his paper by seeding discussion about it on the internet. (A series of anonymous messages posted on physics forums appeared from June mentioning his name). But he does admit to setting in motion the wheel that probably drove his story around the world - the comparison to Einstein. Lynds says the comment originally appeared in one of the reports written by the scientists who were assessing his work when he sent it to the first journal - and he then mentioned it to a newspaper.

A copy of the report seen by the Guardian reveals the comparison is perhaps not so flattering. While the report does indeed state that: "the author's work resembles Einstein's 1905 paper on special relativity," the anonymous referee goes on to say, "in that its validity is not destroyed by the [circular reasoning] from which it is formally derived."

The whole thing is a case of scientific over-hyping.

 

[zoobyshoe]

So, you don't feel he has solved
those ancient paradoxes?

 

[FZ+]

I think he thought some nice thoughts, and that the ancient paradoxes have many answers, but he has not really proved anything, tested anything or justified the earth-shattering impression he is trying to make.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I agree. Like the one guy in the
first story said what this guy has
to say is very interesting.

 

[jammieg]

There are a few words mentioned about how the paper does this and that and a bit of explanation and people are real impressed with it, but I don't see this mysterious and grand paper anywhere.

 

[Lightyear]

I think his paper is very important...You should read it.. It's avaliable on his website along with two other papers...one on Zeno's paradoxes and another on time and consciousness...As for it being the solution to Zeno's paradoxes, I think that it very obviously is

http://www.peterlynds.net.nz/