What are the effects of crackpot addiction on scientific discourse?

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The discussion revolves around the enjoyment and addiction to reading and analyzing crackpot theories posted on forums like Physics Forums (PF). Participants express a mix of amusement and superiority when encountering these convoluted ideas, while also recognizing the need to maintain the integrity of the forum by limiting such posts. There is a suggestion for a dedicated space, like a "Crackpot Corner," to archive these theories without compromising the forum's standards. Despite the humor found in these discussions, there's a consensus that true crackpots are unlikely to accept rational arguments against their claims. Ultimately, the community finds entertainment in these eccentric theories while grappling with the challenge of managing their presence online.
  • #101
phinds said:
Oh, we're ready for them but NOTHING slows them down a bit.
conscious observation is the key to collapsing the crackpot ;)
 
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  • #102
Wasn't Einstein considered a crackpot?
 
  • #103
Only by crackpots seeking credibility by claiming legitimate intellects as being among their "illegitimate" heritage.
 
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  • #104
mainliner said:
conscious observation is the key to collapsing the crackpot ;)
No. It doesn't slow them down a bit. There consciousness doesn't work the way ours does.
 
  • #105
mainliner said:
Wasn't Einstein considered a crackpot?
No, he was not. He WAS considered to be putting forth a radical theory that some folks thought was wrong but that's NOT the same as being a crackpot.

The only attribute that he had that I am aware of that is on the crackpot list is that he considered himself to be Einstein.
 
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  • #106
phinds said:
No. It doesn't slow them down a bit. There consciousness doesn't work the way ours does.
i was practicing my mocking techniques ;)

the most i know about physics is on tv every week ... "the big bang theory" :)

I'll be there to confuse matters for myself if anything lol :)
 
  • #108
Dammit, the forum software is being mean! I did not get any alerts when Bystander and Shyan posted their finds. And now they're both gone. Well, the velocity thread is still around, but it has been gelded before I could see the fun bits. :(
 
  • #109
Bandersnatch said:
Dammit, the forum software is being mean! I did not get any alerts when Bystander and Shyan posted their finds. And now they're both gone. Well, the velocity thread is still around, but it has been gelded before I could see the fun bits. :(
oops...isn't it only for gold members?
 
  • #110
No, usually it works just fine. But thanks for reminding me I should support PF. :)
 
  • #111
Crack pot alert!
 
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  • #112
Here's my favorite:

old-cracked-pots-sold-gary-smith.jpg


Oh I laugh every time...
 
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  • #113
Oh, there I go posting again without reading the content of the thread... I thought it was support for people addicted to cracked pots. My bad.

BTW, Dark matter is actually just Gruyere.

-Dave K
 
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  • #114
I thought the moon was made of cheese
 
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  • #115
Cheese it - the mentors are coming!
 
  • #116
And i thought scientists didn't have a sense of humour :)

you do realize the forces of crackpotery humour you so "spookily" admire could have huge effects on the world as we know it :)( still giggling to myself about this crackpotery index )
 
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  • #117
Live one in General Physics...
 
  • #118
jim mcnamara said:
Cheese it - the mentors are coming!
is there a mentor section?
 
  • #119
Borg said:
Live one in General Physics...
link !
 
  • #120
What would u recommend for bait ?

lol
 
  • #121
mainliner said:
link !
First hit on Unanswered Threads.
 
  • #122
Borg said:
Live one in General Physics...
Got him archived. The 200(!) pages pdf is a "textbook" for Nassim Haramein's crank science pulled off his website.
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nassim_Haramein
I guess I'm going to have something relaxing to sober up to tomorrow.

The website content looks like a cross between scientology and Deepak Chopra's woowoo. You might want to check it out. The link is in the rational wiki page ("the resonance project").
 
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  • #123
mainliner said:
I thought the moon was made of cheese

I didn't say it wasn't. It's just during the great fermentation, matter with different lactosities underwent different levels of coagulation. The moon is believed to be a very hard parmesan - not that we can test it, since we've never been there. Since Einstein said matter and energy are the same, then cheese (which is matter) is equivalent to the radiant energy of its corresponding supercow. To paraphrase Neil DeGrasse Tyson, we are all made of cowstuff.
 
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  • #124
(That was a little to easy and enjoyable).
 
  • #125
dkotschessaa said:
(That was a little to easy and enjoyable).
?
 
  • #126
mfb said:
Had a look at the Earth forum and the only thread recent enough was started by Astronuc :D. The crackpot thread was deleted too fast.

The first part is too good to hide:
I'm conducting a Transdisciplinary research in the last 6 years on this issue, and what I found was the biggest "Scientific Dogma" of the history.

First sentence in, and we've already got a score of 55 on the Crackpot Index:

-5 starting credit
+10 for stating how long he's been working on it
+10 for emphasizing that he's worked alone
+40 for claiming that the dogma of the "scientific establishment" is what's keeping his work suppressed

(Source http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html)
 
  • #127
Scoring points for crackpotery...lmfao!

this really is a sport for you isn't it ?
 
  • #128
Hey...I'm watching this thread but I get no alerts when its updated!
 
  • #129
Shyan said:
Hey...I'm watching this thread but I get no alerts when its updated!
switch your alerts to " if people reply" as well as " if people quote" to a thread your watching
 
  • #130
mainliner said:
switch your alerts to " if people reply" as well as " if people quote" to a thread your watching
They were switched on.
Its interesting that after giving the post you quoted, I began to receive update alerts for this thread!
 
  • #131
Shyan said:
They were switched on.
Its interesting that after giving the post you quoted, I began to receive update alerts for this thread!
spooky lol
 
  • #133
Shyan said:
Its interesting that after giving the post you quoted, I began to receive update alerts for this thread!

My bet is that if you don't follow alerts they become inactive. More complicated version of the "There may also be other replies, but you will not receive any more notifications until you visit the forum again."
 
  • #135
Shyan said:
Because I actually wasn't paying that much attention to alerts coming from this thread.

:oldsurprised: :headbang:Someone bring a bar of soap, and young man please stick out your tongue...:D
 
  • #136
Shyan said:
But it actually makes sense to me after reading Greg's and Borek's posts. Because I actually wasn't paying that much attention to alerts coming from this thread.

Somewhere in the past, I noticed that the people who I considered to be the smartest, here at the forum, avoided these types of threads.

I will have to talk to Greg about a "Smartest Member" award for next year.

ps. And before you get all up in arms offended, I mentioned in that post, that I spend 90% +/- 9% of my time in these types of threads.
pps. I've found out what a "toot" is.
 
  • #137
Sorry. But I really don't understand the responds to my last post here. Not that I feel offended or something. I really don't understand what they mean!
(In case of OmCheeto's, Am I correct in interpreting it as an advice in avoiding such threads to be considered smart by him?)
 
  • #138
bjshnog said:
I was considering making a thread for this, but I couldn't work out if I would receive a lock/ban for it, but it might fit in this thread. :D

Over the last few weeks, I've kind of fallen into an obsession with the apparent symmetry between mathematics and physics, which threatens to drive me completely insane. I'll try to keep my question short and concise.

Is it possible for anything to exist or logically interact with other systems, which does not follow mathematical patterns entirely? If so, is there really any difference between "reality" and pure mathematics?

Also, how can I stop myself from going insane?

The relationship between the philosophy of science and science itself is very closely tied to the relationship between crackpot science and real science. Crackpots often claim to have some fundamental philosophical difference from the mainstream that makes their theory correct.

The relationship between mathematics and science is usually to say that mathematics is the language of science, and scientists cannot really say anything more about mathematics beyond that. Mathematicians may feel more compelled to "Platonize" mathematical objects and see the language analogy as lacking, since they often study mathematical objects that have no physical counterpart.

As for staying sane, one thing that helped me was Tim Gowers advice about mathematics, which was basically not to ask what mathematical objects are, but to study how they behave. You will go insane if you try to figure out the meaning of ##\sqrt{-1}## , but if you instead, study what properties it has, you'll fare much better.

Physicists can then use this behavior to model the behaviors of physical phenomena which seem to match. There are lots of applications of imaginary/complex numbers in physics, for example.

Of course a crackpot would possibly read all sorts of philosophical meaning into mathematical objects, hence claiming either that the entire world is imaginary, thus a product of the mind, or alternatively lambasting the physical sciences which use imaginary numbers as made up nonsense. I think both extremes come from a lack of understanding of how to think about mathematics.

And this is why we don't have a philosophy forum anymore... I feel the hammer coming!

-Dave K
 
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  • #139
Shyan said:
Sorry. But I really don't understand the responds to my last post here. Not that I feel offended or something. I really don't understand what they mean!
(In case of OmCheeto's, Am I correct in interpreting it as an advice in avoiding such threads to be considered smart by him?)

Please forgive if necessary, I tend to forget that, not only an age gap, but a gender and cultural gap might prevent my sometimes poor internet humor from coming across as I might have intended :(.
In days of old (1940's and 50's ) a mouth that said things considered less than appropriate, might receive a mild form of admonishment, such as washing the tongue with soap (in those days soap really had a foul taste).:oldruck:
There was nothing wrong with your post, just hope you might see the humor intended.
I think I fall in closeness to the crackpot category with regard to knowing a lot of things, but not having an educated background to present my thoughts in proper form,...
In summary of my words, a crackpot thread should have a crackpot, allow me to offer some assistance :biggrin:
 
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  • #140
Shyan said:
Sorry. But I really don't understand the responds to my last post here. Not that I feel offended or something. I really don't understand what they mean!
(In case of OmCheeto's, Am I correct in interpreting it as an advice in avoiding such threads to be considered smart by him?)
No one cares what Greg thinks. Unless of course, they value their lives.
sidenote: I've had drag down, knock me out arguments,
with every Mentor I've encountered, but not with Greg.
He seems most agreeable.
But, I'm still surprised that they allow my presence here.
It might be, because I usually include references to my arguments.
But anyways...​
What I meant was, don't end up in threads, with idiots, like myself. It's a Communistic kind of joke:

Marx; "I Don’t Want to Belong to Any Club That Will Accept Me as a Member"
 
  • #141
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/quantum-entanglement-and-ftl.790536/ ... @Bandersnatch!
 
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  • #142
Anyway, can anyone give me some etymological explanations about the word "crackpot"?
 
  • #143
Shyan said:
etymological
"Crack" is obviously fractured/broken/non-functional, and "pot" may be a corruption of "pate" for head (not goose liver).
 
  • #144
Shyan said:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/quantum-entanglement-and-ftl.790536/ ... @Bandersnatch!
Ohh...they removed it!
Bystander said:
"Crack" is obviously fractured/broken/non-functional, and "pot" may be a corruption of "pate" for head (not goose liver).
Nice, thanks.
 
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  • #145
Shyan said:
Ohh...they removed it!
You will want to be subtle with hints/clues.
 
  • #146
Bystander said:
You will want to be subtle with hints/clues.
Sorry, I sometimes have problem understanding English. Could say what you mean more clearly?
 
  • #147
Don't be too obvious with pointers to a specific thread, or that might point to a specific member of the forum.
 
  • #149

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