Which is the best site to share your scientific ideas

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the best platforms for sharing scientific ideas, particularly in the fields of mathematics and physics. Participants explore the nature of scientific versus personal ideas, the role of peer-reviewed journals, and the challenges of open discussions in scientific communities.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that individual sites may be beneficial for sharing ideas, particularly in mathematics and physics.
  • Others argue that there are no good sites for sharing scientific ideas, claiming that open discussions attract unqualified contributions, referred to as "crackpot" theories.
  • A participant distinguishes between "personal" ideas, which lack theoretical or experimental validation, and "scientific" ideas, which must undergo consistency tests against established theories and experimental results.
  • It is noted that scientific ideas are primarily communicated through peer-reviewed journals and conferences, emphasizing the importance of understanding existing literature before proposing new ideas.
  • Some participants inquire about the existence of guidelines on what constitutes a "crackpot" theory within the forum, suggesting that clarity on this topic is necessary for general readers.
  • One participant humorously suggests that if someone has to ask about sharing scientific ideas, it may indicate they do not possess a valid scientific idea.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the appropriateness of various platforms for sharing scientific ideas, with some advocating for individual sites while others maintain that open discussions can lead to unqualified contributions. The distinction between personal and scientific ideas is acknowledged, but no consensus is reached on the best approach to sharing scientific thoughts.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the importance of understanding established theories and the potential pitfalls of proposing untested ideas. There is a mention of existing guidelines within the forum regarding personal speculation and what constitutes valid scientific discussion.

parshyaa
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mainly maths and physics. individual sites will also help
 
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There are no good sites for this. It is simply not how science works.
Moreover, any open site that allow you to freely discuss your ideas will inevitable attract lots and lots of crackpots.
The reason why PF works so well and has quite a few professional physicists posting on a regular basis is precisely because members are NOT allowed to discuss their own idea/theories.
 
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parshyaa said:
mainly maths and physics. individual sites will also help
I think you need to know the difference between "personal" and "scientific" ideas. Personal ideas is something one comes up with without going through any theoretical or experimental test, and hence have not acquire agreement from related experts. On the other hand, an idea is deemed scientific if it at least has gone through consistency test to compare its implication with the other theories or experimental result and it should agree with them.
 
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f95toli said:
...
Moreover, any open site that allow you to freely discuss your ideas will inevitable attract lots and lots of crackpots.
...
Does PF have a sticky post to explain what and who exactly a crackpot is in scientific debates ? General readers may not be able to really understand it except its narrow English meaning.
 
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Scientific ideas are mainly communicated to a wider audience by writing scientific papers which get published in peer-reviewed journals, or by presenting talks and posters at conferences which are attended by peer scientists.

You may have a look at arXiv.org (pronounced "archive" because the "X" is supposed to be the greek letter "Chi") to see examples of how such papers look like.

If someone thinks that (s)he has a worthwhile idea, (s)he needs to check
a) if the idea is compatible with established theory and experiments (like blue_leaf77 wrote in post #3) and
b) if someone else already had the same idea.

For both these things, you need to be able to understand the current state of affairs by reading textbooks and papers. If you can't do this already, you cannot attract scientific interest because it is very likely that your idea is in conflict with established science or too general to be considered scientific.

Instead of trying to come up with something new, you should aim to understand. New ideas mostly come from trying to progress what's already there or from identifying problems with it.
 
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Pepper Mint said:
Does PF have a sticky post to explain what and who exactly a crackpot is in scientific debates ? General readers may not be able to really understand it except its narrow English meaning.
If you read the Terms and Rules section of the forum (in the INFO tab, also a required reading when signing up), you'll find ample information on what to avoid when using PF, including what is considered personal speculation/theory (i.e. crackpottery).
Specifically, here:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/physics-forums-global-guidelines.414380/
in the General Content Guidelines section;
Also in the Help/How-to section:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/physics-forums-faq-and-howto.617567/#post-4664231
There's also ZapperZ's Insights article on the topic:
https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...y-forum-like-we-need-a-computer-virus.765736/
All of the above pertain directly to rules of PF, but together paint a very good picture of what is not a valid scientific discussion.

Finally, John Baez's tongue-in-cheek 'Crackpot index' can be found here:
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html
It's funny, but also very accurately descriptive of typical crackpottery.
 
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parshyaa said:
mainly maths and physics. individual sites will also help

Elsewhere.

BTW, if you have to ask, there's a very good chance that you do not have a "scientific idea".

Zz.
 
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