This American Life | A Little Bit of Knowledge
The July 22, 2005 episode of This American Life demonstrates that a little knowledge can be dangerous.
Act Three (starting at about 30:00 into the RealMedia recording) is the highlight here. Crackpot Bob Berenz comes up with a New! Theory! Of! Physics! that demonstrates that Einstein and Newton were complete losers.
John Baez appears and discusses his crackpot index, Alexander Abian, and Archimedes/Ludwig Plutonium.
posted by Doug Simpkinson @ 2:16 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
It's more a degree than a yes or no question. Many people will score more than zero but still not be hardcore crackpots.
Oh, and if you think you get points just for mentioning Einstein, read the test more carefully - it's the misspelling "Einstien" that gets you points. Thus, your comment here doesn't indicate you are a crackpot.
If you leave a way to get in touch with you, I'd be happy to discuss further.
You're absolutely right, Bob. I'd be happy to examine some of your work - do you have a link you could post here? If you don't have a web page, you can email me at doug "at" douglips "dot" com.
I have to say that I based my derisive opinion on the little bits we heard on This American Life. Confusing units (i.e. E = mc) is a very common error, and sounds like a big flaw to me. Perhaps you have corrected this flaw since the show aired?
Anyway, as I said I'll be happy to review your work, but I merely have a bachelor's degree in Physics. You may have already heard all the criticism that I could bring to bear and then some. But I'm game...
-Doug
Just a quick update, I never heard back from Bob. I don't fault people for not being internet savvy enough to build a web page, so I don't read much into his absence.
Bob, if you're still out there and you want to get your idea to have more exposure, email me. I'd be happy to build a quick web page with your theory on it, and I promise not to editorialize at all. I'd save any criticism for my blog.
Best of luck to you in any case...
-Doug
I'm sorry for the delay but I just put up a website, physics2012.com I should have done it sooner; sometimes I'm reasonably intelligent and sometimes not so much.
Judge for yourself if my intelligence failed me on the physics.
Bob
Sorry I missed this, Bob - I have let this blog sit idle for several years and now it seems like your site is gone.
Here's one snapshot on the wayback machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140104105422/http://physics2012.com/
I'm not sure I follow it fully, he explores kinetic energy and momentum, and it seems he's got his units right at first glance. Not sure where he's going with it though - I only see work = delta kinetic energy and impulse = delta momentum, which are already well established relationships. I might have missed something though.
We seem to be playing a blog version of "phone tag" . The bottom line is that the formula for mechanical energy is assumed by all to be correct. And at the risk of alienating everyone more than I have; everyone also assumes momentum is equally valid. Both of these concepts have never met the standards of the scientific method. There are few physicists who know the original experimental evidence for mechanical energy but, not one of them sees the GROSS error in it. I can send you all sorts of stuff and I will if requested but only if it is wanted. You have my email address. Bob
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