[geocentrism] From Rob Glover
- From: "Dr. Neville Jones" <ntj005@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: geocentrism@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 15:39:45 +0100 (BST)
Dear All,
We seem to be experiencing a few technical difficulties with Freelists at the
moment. For example, I personally authorised a message from Rob Glover on two
occasions, but it never appeared. Also, some of mine have not appeared, either.
I give Rob's message in full below, and would just say two things to it:
1) I agree completely with the gist of most of what he is saying (I decided to
question things myself a little while back - otherwise I would not have the
views I hold now, for instance);
2) I am not going to unsubscribe him straight away, unless he requests it
again, because I would prefer him to re-think and to remain on this list.
Neville,
Thank you for reinstating me, but it wasn't really necessary. I will
ask you
to unsubscribe me now. Alan was right, you are happier debating among
yourselves.
As you would expect from me however, I can't go without a parting
statement!
This is aimed at all readers and posters on this board, now and in the
future; please feel free to pay attention to any, all or none of what
follows.
Firstly,
Distrust 'argument from authority'. I would ask you not to take
statements
from any one source as being the definitive statement, simply on the
grounds
they claim to be an authority on the matter. Not from Rob Glover, not
from
Neville, not from Jack, not from what any one person says. Do your own
research, check things out on Google or at the library. If you feel you
don't know enough to do that, then buy a basic physics or astronomy
textbook. Read round the subject, and if you see something which
appears to
contradict that single authority, challenge it, with reasons. That
activity
is all that science is.
2) Study alternative viewpoints other than your own. It may serve to
sharpen
your own arguments, it may also serve to question it. Having your own
viewpoint questioned is healthy. If your viewpoint is right, it will
survive
the sternest questioning. If you have to introduce further, more
complicated
hypotheses to defend your original view, the problem is doubled, as you
now
have to explain the further hypotheses as well. Remember Occam's Razor.
Ask
yourself why www.talkorigins.org happily posts links to Creationist
websites
for their readers to check out the creationist arguments for
themselves, but
why www.answersingenesis.org does not reciprocate. Which party looks to
be
hiding other points of view than their own?
3) Conspiracy theories - The moment anyone has to invoke global
conspiracy
theories to explain away challenges to their hypothesis, it reduces the
credibiity of that hypothesis. You then have to explain how big the
conspiracy theory was, how the conspiracy theory was and is controlled,
and
how not one, not one, single person has ever blown the whistle by
presenting
real, verifiable evidence for the conspiracy, such as a tape recording
or a
signed order from President Nixon. Look at what additional postulates
the
conspiracy theory requires you to believe in order to work; NASA death
squads for example. And ask if there is any real evidence for their
existence. I would urge you to read sites such as www.clavius.org, or
buy
one of the excellent DVD sets from www.spacecraftfilms.com. Look at
your own
everyday experiences, see if what the conspiracy theorists says truly
matches what your own everyday experience is of things like parallel
shadows
on undulating ground.
4) Read about the lunar retroreflectors, for example, (you can start
here:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Lunar%20Laser%20Ranging%20Experime
nt ) and satisfy yourself how the retroflectors on the tail lights of
your
own car work. E-mail the observatory that does the ranging work with
your
questions. Again never be satisfied with argument from one single
authority,
arguments such as "I have experience in such-and-such, and I can tell
you
categorically that..." At the very least, ask them why. Make them make
you
understand.
5) The Fibonnaci series -
There is a good page here, happy reading.
http://library.thinkquest.org/27890/applications5.html .
6) Get hold of a telescope (your local astronomical society will have
lots
for you to try), and take a look at the Moon, stars, nebulae and
planets for
yourself. As well as being a beautiful sight, it will give you a
grounding
to question things that you might otherwise accept. Statements such as,
"anything less that 1 arcminute in size is invisible to the human eye."
If a
paper demonstrates through equations that the Sun should be invisible
at a
distance x, ask the author of that paper at what distance the paper
predicts
a 60-watt light bulb should be invisible, or at what distance it would
become a single arcminute in size. Verify it with objects from your own
everyday experience. Can you see traffic lights a mile away on a dark
night?
7) Insist on consistency in arguments. If one paper makes an
assumption, say
about Solar or Lunar distance, then any theory that challenges that
also
challenges the assumptions underlying that paper. Don't allow anyone to
pick
and choose only the facts that support their argument, or to rely on
one
theory for argument (a), while calling it false in argument (b).
8) The flower pattern - don't be satisfied with the demonstration of
Earth
and Mars in the flower patterns page. Ask what the pattern looks like
from
the point of view of Venus - is it equally elegant? Then ask to see
what it
looks like from the point of view of the Sun. Is it simpler and more
elegant
still? Ask yourself, if your hypothesis is a truly Geostatic Earth,
then
what relevance does to the flower pattern have to that hypothesis, as
those
patterns are drawn from the point of view of a rotating Earth, and a
rotating Mars.
Above all, learn. Read. Experiment. You're on a journey that can never
end -
the journey of human knowledge.
With that I take my leave. I apologise to anyone who I may have
offended
during my tenure here. Goodbye.
Rob Glover
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