tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post1356223921080969564..comments2023-09-27T07:44:19.769-04:00Comments on Sabine Hossenfelder: Backreaction: I was wrong. You were wrong too. Admit it.Sabine Hossenfelderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-63035338500815352342017-09-21T18:32:12.715-04:002017-09-21T18:32:12.715-04:00Delightful essay. Forwarded it to all my friends.Delightful essay. Forwarded it to all my friends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-24716399055684322512017-09-14T22:38:09.590-04:002017-09-14T22:38:09.590-04:00"It's called bluffing in poker."
In..."It's called bluffing in poker."<br /><br />In other words, lying. It's allowed in poker. In politics too, I guess, if you don't mind being lied to. (E.g., he'll build a wall and Mexico will pay for it.) <br /><br />In science, lying is about the worst sin you can commit, since science is the search for truth. Consistency (repeatability) is one of the signs of good JimVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10198704789965278981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-54409384012990339962017-09-14T08:36:51.490-04:002017-09-14T08:36:51.490-04:00For scientist, your opinion of Trump is clouded by...For scientist, your opinion of Trump is clouded by emotions. If you had read "Art of the Deal" then you would know that Trump only appears to change his mind constantly. It's called bluffing in poker. scotster88https://www.blogger.com/profile/14179666706039143205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-24095516289671556762017-09-03T15:47:58.527-04:002017-09-03T15:47:58.527-04:00>Trump changes his mind. A lot. May that be abo...>Trump changes his mind. A lot. May that be about the NATO or about Afghanistan or, really, find me anything he has not changed his mind about.<br /><br />This tells us that the narrative civilians believe is a complete lie and that is why Obama did the same thing with Guantanamo.<br /><br />>Now, I suspect that’s because he doesn’t have an opinion, can’t recall what he said last time, and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-51363616569891449672017-09-02T17:45:22.375-04:002017-09-02T17:45:22.375-04:00Sabine,
people interprete a lot and aren't al...Sabine,<br /><br />people interprete a lot and aren't always aware of it. You told me that the Schwarzschild coordinate system isn't used because it doesn't cover the whole spacetime. While this statement isn't actually wrong, it strongly evokes the mental image of objects suddenly disappearing from the coordinate system so one shouldn't use it at all - and many people don'Ambi Valenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03488247852564879628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-2455592842422838532017-09-01T01:07:03.443-04:002017-09-01T01:07:03.443-04:00AmbiValent,
My tweet simply said I'm trying t...AmbiValent,<br /><br />My tweet simply said I'm trying to solve Einstein's field equations. It's some (mild) modified version that'll hopefully land on the arxiv sooner rather than later. <br /><br />I don't know what you mean with your remark about interpretations. I am very open to interpretations because honestly I don't care about interpretations. You can interpret Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-81106930790723371212017-08-31T18:20:37.322-04:002017-08-31T18:20:37.322-04:00Sabine,
on-topic (I hope)
Do I understand correctl...Sabine,<br />on-topic (I hope)<br />Do I understand correctly from your tweet that you're currently trying to get to a more modern mathematical General Relativity by starting from the Einstein field equations and building upwards from there, using the best current knowledge?<br /><br />In that case, I admit that I was wrong to assume that you were only open-minded about new knowledge while Ambi Valenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03488247852564879628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-62165977790796003272017-08-30T05:48:23.085-04:002017-08-30T05:48:23.085-04:00Ambi Valent,
I first approved your comment, but a...Ambi Valent,<br /><br />I first approved your comment, but after consideration deleted it. It's entirely off-topic and I suggest you pursue your problems with the Schwarzschild metric elsewhere. Sabine Hossenfelderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151209308084588985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-41788651509346102232017-08-29T12:38:25.700-04:002017-08-29T12:38:25.700-04:00"Science taught me it's possible to be wr..."Science taught me it's possible to be wrong gracefully...." Grace is such a beautiful word in English, or any language. In the context in which Bee uses this word it implies one can make mistakes, but learn from those mistakes and move on.<br /><br />The beautiful lyrics from the song "Rise", by Caroline Jones mirror this aspect of life, as in: "No matter where youDavid Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18048116250413347228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-40894224583990816822017-08-28T14:26:34.498-04:002017-08-28T14:26:34.498-04:00I'm always eager to say I was wrong, if that&#...I'm always eager to say I was wrong, if that's the case, because when you hang on to a wrong position you look like an idiot. If you change your mind, when presented with the facts, it only looks like you **were** an idiot. That's a lot better. But many people can't really follow this course. Since they make so many mistakes every second sentence would have to be "I was wrongGeorge Rushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10079808299277959750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-70040474724757019862017-08-27T23:40:05.924-04:002017-08-27T23:40:05.924-04:00I basically agree with Rob vS that we mostly learn...I basically agree with Rob vS that we mostly learn from errors, but have a different slant on it.<br /><br />Another opinion I have which could be wrong is that trial-and-error plus memory is both how biological evolution made us and how we ourselves do our creative thinking (if any). Error of course implies selection criteria, and therein lies the rub (or rubs the lie). That is, reality and JimVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10198704789965278981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-15473402095979325872017-08-27T19:09:27.287-04:002017-08-27T19:09:27.287-04:00I admit that I may be wrong. And that Sabine and o...I admit that I may be wrong. And that Sabine and other experts are smarter than me. And that the underlying theory is correct (giving reasonable results, agreeing with observation, when given reasonable input).<br /><br />But I can't admit yet that I must be wrong, until I'm proven wrong. Not because it would hurt saying I was wrong - that would be harmless compared to being continuously Ambi Valenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03488247852564879628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-3518747765186237952017-08-27T10:08:50.569-04:002017-08-27T10:08:50.569-04:00What I have not yet seen mentioned here is the bas...What I have not yet seen mentioned here is the basic fact that you only learn from your errors.<br /><br />If you do not admit to have made an error, you have not learned. Those who never make errors,never learn anything.<br /><br />PS, you can learn a lot when you say slightly ignorant things around specialists. People are generally keen on correcting you. That is another basic human trait. But Rob van Son (Not a physicist, just an amateur)https://www.blogger.com/profile/12611755507524401026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-58004068969969001062017-08-26T03:49:00.511-04:002017-08-26T03:49:00.511-04:00I agree with Jeff about Trump. Trump is a con man...I agree with Jeff about Trump. Trump is a con man, and those of us Americans who know it are appalled that others have fallen for it.<br /><br />But I think Dr. Hossenfelder has made a good point regardless. Being able to admit you were wrong is liberating.<br /><br />I've recently become interested in mindfulness exercises as a means of stress reduction. So far, I've only tried one Liralenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06675133437955499435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-45023241156848932682017-08-25T13:59:02.492-04:002017-08-25T13:59:02.492-04:00I totally agree with the overall message that huma...I totally agree with the overall message that humans need to work against the natural instinct to hold on to beliefs too long. But there are at least two important caveats. Change your mind based on reliable information or re-examination of your original thoughts, not just based on what seems socially acceptable at the time. And keep in mind the reasons for your original opinion. New data is not Topherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17958113758384139554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-28881508805048061812017-08-25T02:20:12.016-04:002017-08-25T02:20:12.016-04:00I don't actually believe that Trump "chan...I don't actually believe that Trump "changes his mind" a lot. And I'm not here to make jokes about his mind either. I think his "changes of mind" are a rhetorical technique, and therefore not worthy of the amount of thought you put into this.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06140726210295297492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-50605676328540653702017-08-25T00:10:06.210-04:002017-08-25T00:10:06.210-04:00This post was not about Trump other than as an exa...This post was not about Trump other than as an example of what not to do, and I wish he had not been mentioned at all due to the boring arguments that will ensue (perhaps it was thought no Trump defenders would show up on a science blog, since Trump is a climate-change denier, thinks "clean coal" means coal is washed after being mined, and so on). Such as:<br /><br />It is my JimVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10198704789965278981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-81261643377228485032017-08-24T23:27:56.211-04:002017-08-24T23:27:56.211-04:00Most recent? I was wrong in my opinion about Uncl...Most recent? I was wrong in my opinion about Uncle Al, which was actually more of a guess than an opinion, since I didn't use to understand what he said.<br /><br />But a very good point, Dr. Hossenfelder. Unfortunately, I think that the ability to change opinion when presented with new evidence defines the difference in political parties, at least here in the US. Almost by definition.<br Liralenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06675133437955499435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-91509874492872141882017-08-24T18:07:37.797-04:002017-08-24T18:07:37.797-04:00Re: "genes determine sex". Saying this i...Re: "genes determine sex". Saying this is rather like saying that a rack&pinion system steers your car. It's true but ignores upstream and downstream systems. In humans, it's the presence of a Y chromosome (and a gene on it) that makes a male (hence, nondisjunction errors like XXY produce a male). In flies, it's the ratio X to Y chromosomes in a way that doesn't Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04163738909524521887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-16642010595892053982017-08-24T17:19:26.132-04:002017-08-24T17:19:26.132-04:00This is TERRIBLE! HORRIBLE! Uncle Al is changing...This is TERRIBLE! HORRIBLE! Uncle Al is changing my ... NO NO NO !Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08363770435343791235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-28117890398342651122017-08-24T15:48:55.612-04:002017-08-24T15:48:55.612-04:00This man destroyed the healthcare plan of those wh...This man destroyed the healthcare plan of those who got him elected, while promising them better health care...<br />Now there's something I will never change my mind on.(Slightly anti-topic)Koenraad Van Spaendonckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090279727324831109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-76476788500139981452017-08-24T15:17:14.341-04:002017-08-24T15:17:14.341-04:00"You asked for something Trump will not chang...<i>"You asked for something Trump will not change his mind on: He will never be convinced that he is anything other than a great champion, a winner."</i><br /><br />Old joke (from long before Trump's presidential campaign): Trump is in a lift, going up to his penthouse. On the way up, the lift stops, the doors open, and walks in. She drops to her knees, opens his trousers, and Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-43898927071535871372017-08-24T15:00:40.098-04:002017-08-24T15:00:40.098-04:00Sabine Hossenfelder said...
Louis,
“….the question...Sabine Hossenfelder said...<br />Louis,<br />“….the question whether there is a "right" way to define time is irrelevant. You always have to ask what it is that you measure and if you compute that it shouldn't matter how you define time.”<br /><br />Dear Sabine,<br /><br />Thank for the reply, unfortunately my limited education in physics has been is barrier in communicating Louis Tagliaferrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16698865662162457632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-10011195431255749672017-08-24T13:21:27.309-04:002017-08-24T13:21:27.309-04:00The thing about Trump: he can change his mind abou...The thing about Trump: he can change his mind about something about which he was wrong. I suspect it's true. But, he has never admitted (confessed) he was wrong about something. Anything. He has never admitted he has changed his mind. It seems some people are comfortable with this. I'm not. Imagine writing a paper based on an error and then instead of a retraction, writing a new paper Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384452041387115059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22973357.post-36958307580596129422017-08-24T12:39:59.332-04:002017-08-24T12:39:59.332-04:00"I thought that anti-vaxxers are a US-phenome...<i>"I thought that anti-vaxxers are a US-phenomenon, certainly not to be found among the dutiful Germans. Well, I was wrong. The WHO estimates only 93% of children in Germany receive both measles shots."</i><br /><br />Unfortunately, anti-vaxxers are relatively common in Germany. In the US they tend to believe the Andrew Wakefield fraud and/or are religiously motivated. In Germany, Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.com