Quote:
Originally Posted by VanderL
When, for example, I read of the enormous density of the matter in neutron stars, I will not believe this is really possible unless reproduced and shown to work as advertised. Until then I'm a skeptic, wary of every development that builds on such (to me) unproven quantities (and there are lots of them in astronomy).
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Actually, Van, the densities in neutron stars are the result of the calculations using the equations of state based on either QED or QCD with a little GR thrown in) and have very little to do with astronomy, except tangentially. Now, if you want to claim that QED and QCD haven't been tested under controlled conditions in a lab and doesn't work as advertised, I'm afraid I (and many others) would have to disagree with you (and even GR, in measuring the constant g has been done under lab conditions). This is exactly the type of strawman argument that some ATM posters use.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VanderL
Furthermore, your resistance to the use of falsification seems only when in connection with mainstream theories (DM comes to mind);
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Actually,(to use your example) while the exact nature of DM hasn't (to my knowledge) been formally proposed (there are some hypotheses out there, with some that have been falsified and if you know of an actually claim on what it is exactly, please pass along the reference) the idea for DM has passed the falsification test so far(see the bullet cluster and associated papers).
Quote:
Originally Posted by VanderL
whenever you ask ATMers about their theories/models, then it seems perfectly normal to ask how the theory/model can be verified/falsified with currently existing technologies. I'll leave it at that for now.
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Actually, I spend more time and am more interested in asking how the ATM ideas can explain current observations better than the poster's new ideas. That usually doesn't get very far either.
If you don't mind, I'd like to ask a question. Why don't Alternate theory poster 1 attack the reasoning and ideas of Alternate theory poster 2? Expecially when Alternate theory poster 1's idea is in direct conflict with Alternate theory poster 2's idea.