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| Posted By: Isaac Newton Posted On: Nov 28, 2003 Views: 1148 | Strange link I followed your link to that site about infinity being real. You're right, it is weird. The guy obviously believes what he says, but as you say doesn't understand that just because you don't like a theory is not enough to make it wrong. I find it strange that therear are people like him who seem to have this idea that one day all current theories will be shown to be wrong. They seem to me to be similar to people who say the moon landings were faked up and that they are the only ones with the sense to spot the errors in the photos meaning the rest of us must be really dumb. This guy thinks we are all dumb if we accept that relativity is correct,and that we will all be proven wrong one day. As if everything that agrees with the theory now for somw reason will stop agreeing with it in the future! Weird. |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Dec 3, 2003 Views: 1142 | RE: Strange link I see that you have tried to get a sensible response but failed. I also tried, many times, and failed. The guy simply does not realise the foolishness of his remarks, and it is a waste of time trying to tell him. He thinks that people who use logic in their arguments have closed minds and simply believe what they have been told to believe. His statement regarding infinite smallness is classic, and I quote it here. "I could half in size forever until I was less than the size of an electron, and since everything consists of parts I could then see the components of an electron and hence the components of the components of an electron, which would have to stay together through the same laws that govern the planets and the atoms." That is his proof of infinite smallness! I give up! |
| Posted By: Tod Posted On: Dec 6, 2003 Views: 1136 | RE: Strange link What is wrong with saying you could keep getting smaller and be able to see how everything is made up of smaller things? |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Dec 7, 2003 Views: 1133 | RE: Strange link Hi Tod, I'll explain what is wrong. The author is suggesting that there is no such thing as an elementary particle, but that particles are themselves made up of smaller particles which are in turn made up of smaller particles.....etc. Okay, that is the suggestion. What comes next is offered up as a reason for believing the suggestion to be true, but is simply another suggestion. He suggests that by continually becoming smaller "I could half in size forever" he could then see "the component of an electron". That is one enormous assumption to make, and certainly cannot be taken as supporting his argument. In fact, he does not even have an argument, because, in his own words again "and since everything consists of parts". He takes it as a given fact that we have infinite smallness and his proof of this is that by demonstrating personal infinite smallness we could see it for ourselves. And you think this makes sense? You may just as well argue that faster than light speed is possible simply by suggesting that by doing it we could see for ourselves. Wonderful! That's proved that one then! What I find so annoying about sites like this is not the ideas they propose, but the absurd ideas put forward to support them. This guy fails to see how totally illogical his arguments are, all of them. Whatever happened to common-sense, reason, logic, deduction and empirical science? People today seem happy to rubbish just about anything that they take a personal dislike to and never mind giving valid reasons why. Now do you see why his argument is seriously flawed? His suggestion of infinite smallness is acceptable as an unsupportable and untestable idea for discussion purposes, but his arguments for supporting it are pure rubbish. |
| Posted By: Isaac Newton Posted On: Dec 8, 2003 Views: 1127 | RE: Strange link If you think the infinity site is bad, take a look at this for a laugh http://www.crank.net/new.html "kranks, crackpots, kooks and loons on the net" It will do your head in! It has links to some really crazy stuff. (You will be interested to know that Bart Sibrel's moon hoax page is listed.) I have proposed "take off to infinity" to them for listing. |
| Posted By: Jo Posted On: Mar 23, 2004 Views: 1084 | RE: Strange link I have a question, I am probably incorrect. Radioactive materials have half-lives, yes? But if I am correct, the radioactivity never COMPLEATLY depleats. I am not sure if this is correct, but if it is, would it be an example of infinity? Thanks! |
| Posted By: Keith Mayes Posted On: Mar 24, 2004 Views: 1080 | RE: Strange link Hi Jo, Yes, radioactivity is expressed in terms of 'half life'. This means, as you know, that in that given period it will lose 50% of its radioactive material. So it would appear that there is always 50% remaining, but this is not quite the case, and it does not mean infinite radiation. I quote from John Gribbin's book "Companion to the Cosmos". "There are two types of radioactive decay, alpha decay and beta decay. They have the effect of transforming a radioactive original nucleus into a nucleus of another element, which may or may not be radioactive itself. Decay happens on a characteristic timescale known as a half life. This kind of decay may occur in a chain several steps long before ending up with a stable nucleus. Decay may also involve the release of energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation." Radiation, as all things, does come to an end. Keith |