In article <1993Jan27.035336.6911@Princeton.EDU>, rdnelson@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Roger D. Nelson) writes:
> In article <C1H02x.K38@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu> relipper@napier.uwaterloo.ca (Eric Lippert) writes:
> >Seriously now, I really do not understand psychic advocates. The real world is a wondrously interesting place! Weirdnesses like black holes, einstein-rosen wormholes, quasars, quantum wells, point particles, superconductors, etc, etc, etc are bizarre a> nd interesting, and best of all, demonstrable!
> >
> I don't understand psychic advocates either, and by all means agree that the
> real world is interesting. But I do wonder at your apparent conviction that
> the above list is "demonstrable!"
>
OK, perhaps "demonstrable" is the wrong word.
black holes -- predicted by cosmologic theory, several unconfirmed candidates
exist, such as the one in Cygnus
wormholes -- well, quite far out, but Einstein was a pretty smart guy...
quasars -- plenty exist, we just don't know what they are, exactly
quantum wells -- appearing soon in a semiconductor near you
point particles -- electrons, for instance
superconductors -- all over the place, these days
The point is that all of these guys are (a) really weird and (b) implied by orthodox theory and accepted by mainstream science. My point is that it is
not necessary to go back to the Middle Ages (when, curiously enough, they believed in magic, faith healing, possession, etc) to find unexplained phenomenon.
Isaac Asimov said that the so-called New Age is really just a very Old Age, all over again. I don't need magic pixies or telepathy to make my world interesting and meaningful. Some, apparently, do.
