on the origin of dark matter...

[waffletten]

Couldn't help taking a stab at the UofM. Some of my arch-nemeses' in both neuroanatomy and pharmacology were from there.

I have no idea how Waterloo pulled off the Perimeter Institute and acquired so many heavy hitters into the fold. Impressive. I ran across the lecture series by watching the show "Big Ideas" on TVO (the equivalent of PBS in the USA) after moving to Canada from the USA last year. They have so many awesome lectures that really stimulate the cortex of retired research scientist crones (like me).

 

[Daedalus685]

Couldn't help taking a stab at the UofM. Some of my arch-nemeses' in both neuroanatomy and pharmacology were from there.

I have no idea how Waterloo pulled off the Perimeter Institute and acquired so many heavy hitters into the fold. Impressive. I ran across the lecture series by watching the show "Big Ideas" on TVO (the equivalent of PBS in the USA) after moving to Canada from the USA last year. They have so many awesome lectures that really stimulate the cortex of retired research scientist crones (like me).

Aye, TVO is pretty awesome. If you get the chance ever perimeter is a really neat place to visit.

 

[silverpig]

A good article just got posted on Ars about this. Linky.

Definitely a good read (and I studied astrophysics in university).

 

[waffletten]

A great article and methinks that we could give Veltman (and Modest Gamer as well) some credit where credit is due. Good science needs contrary opinion, no matter how unverified (or unprofessional in Veltman's case) it may be. I can think of times in my past where a study was done to disprove a theory but actually verified it scientifically. If everyone agreed on the current popular theory there would be less advancement in science.
Either way, I liked the "take home message" that we have a long way to go to understand the fundamentals of physics.
And I do agree with comments in the article that we may get more science payout with orbital telescopes than supercolliders.
Thanks for the linky!

 

[adlep]

How many levels of Calculus based Physics have you taken?

Anyhow, if you do not have any scientific background or even a good willed curiosity about the subject, do not thread crap.

Here, here is the best answer for U:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4IEqnM5GaI

 

[bwanaaa]

@adlep

To whom is your comment addressed? I am surprised to see sarcasm from someone who has been on these boards longer than I. Surely you have seen all manner of idiot come and go. People like silverpig and DrPizza are also long-timers and I hope you are not addressing them. I appreciate the light shed on this question already and thank those who have responded constructively. It seems fewer and fewer places in the world are forums of clarity. So much confusion, marketing-speak, bs , pseudo-science is flourishing that I am astonished.

 

[canis]

How many levels of Calculus based Physics have you taken?

Anyhow, if you do not have any scientific background or even a good willed curiosity about the subject, do not thread crap.

Here, here is the best answer for U:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4IEqnM5GaI

Very arrogant.

 

[Biftheunderstudy]

It's important to keep an open mind about this. While most astronomers I know fall on the DM side of things, there are still a number of proponents of MOND out there. The bullet cluster continues to be the nail in their coffin but there are many theories working to get around this problem.

MOND was originally devised to explain the flat rotation curves of galaxies by saying that gravity worked differently on larger scales. When the other evidence for DM arose (x-ray cluster gas, gravitational lensing etc.) they had to modify their theory, they have been modifying more and more as of late and it seems to be dying out.

I say keep an open mind though because like someone else pointed out earlier, the strongest candidate for DM used to be MACHO's but was all but ruled out. The current LCDM model fits nicely with WIMPs but there are a few nagging details.

Any data is good data, people might be disappointed that their favorite theory was debunked, but hey, its science.