---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: James Franklin <[email protected]> Date: 14 Jan 2009 06:47 Subject: Big Bang Critic Tom Van Flandern passed away (fwd) To: Gerry O Nolan <[email protected]>
fyi http://www.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:20:46 -0600 From: Glen Deen <[email protected]> Reply-To: A Forum for Discussion of the History of the Philosophy of Science <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Big Bang Critic Tom Van Flandern passed away Astronomer Tom Van Flandern, who passed away January 9, 2009, was a Big Bang Theory Critic. See his "The Top Thirty Problems with the Big Bang": http://www.spaceandmotion.com/cosmology/top-30-problems-big-bang-theory.htm Perhaps never in the history of science has so much quality evidence accumulated against a model so widely accepted within a field. Even the most basic elements of the theory, the expansion of the universe and the fireball remnant radiation, remain interpretations with credible alternative explanations. One must wonder why, in this circumstance, that four good alternative models are not even being comparatively discussed by most astronomers. Van Flandern was an active member of the Natural Philosophy Alliance, an organization that is "devoted mainly to broad-ranging, fully open-minded criticism, at the most fundamental levels, of the often irrational and unrealistic doctrines of modern physics and cosmology; and to the ultimate replacement of these doctrines by much sounder ideas developed with full respect for evidence, logic, and objectivity." http://www.worldnpa.org/main/ Van Flandern's NPA profile is found at http://www.worldnpa.org/php2/index.php?tab0=Edit&tab1=Members&tab2=Display&i d=17 Condensed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Van_Flandern Tom Charles Van Flandern (1940 - January 9, 2009) was an American astronomer who specialized in celestial mechanics. He graduated from Xavier University in 1962 and received a PhD in Astronomy from Yale University in 1969. Van Flandern worked at the U.S. Naval Observatory for 21 years, and became Chief of the Celestial Mechanics Branch of the Nautical Almanac Office. His team contributed to the regular production of The Nautical Almanac, among other projects. After retiring from the civil service, Van Flandern served as a Research Associate at the University of Maryland Physics Department, and as a Global Positioning System (GPS) consultant to the Army Research Laboratory. Van Flandern is best known for several alternative cosmological theories, including his contention that certain rock formations in the Martian region Cydonia Mensae are artificial sculptures of "faces" created by extraterrestrial beings. In addition, he advocated the replacement of modern theories of physics with his own set of ideas, which he called "deep reality physics," the main feature of which was his belief in the possibility of faster-than-light travel and limitless free energy. His book "Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets"[1] http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Matter-Missing-Planets-Comets/dp/1556432682 challenged prevailing notions regarding dark matter and solar system formation. Some of his later research, including support for the theory that the asteroid belt contains the remains of a former planet, has found nominal support within the scientific community, while many other ideas have not found general acceptance. He maintained the Meta Research website devoted to explanation and promotion of these theories. http://www.metaresearch.org/ Van Flandern was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He lived, worked and retired in Washington DC with wife Barbara and their four children, and spent that last years of his retirement in the Olympic peninsula town of Sequim, Washington. He passed away on January 9, 2009 after a brief battle with cancer. Van Flandern not only "maintained the Meta Research website", he was its founder and the founder of the Meta Research Institute. Quoting Meta Research's home page introduction: Something has gone wrong in the field of astronomy. Many widely held beliefs fly in the face of observational evidence. Theories go through such contortions to resolve inconsistencies that the ideas can no longer be explained in simple language. Alternative ideas are often rejected out of hand simply because they challenge the status quo. The result... many of today's theories are unnecessarily complex. Meta Research is dedicated to bringing some common sense back to this field. Here we challenge ideas that have consistently failed to make successful predictions, examine new paradigms, and advocate the ideas found to be most worthy of further consideration and testing. Intuitively, most of us understand that an idea's popularity is no more an appropriate measure of its validity today than it has been at any other time in history. Yet those who question any widely accepted theories are labeled ignorant, and if they persist are branded cranks, charlatans, or worse. Meta Research does not claim to have all the answers. But here at least it is safe to ask the rude questions... and to make a case for alternative hypotheses. Best regards, Glen Deen -- School Languages and Linguistics University of New South Wales MB249 Phone: 9385 2347 email: [email protected] Mobile: 040 99 99 99 1 _______________________________________________ SydPhil mailing list [email protected] List Info: http://lists.arts.usyd.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/sydphil NEW LIST ARCHIVE: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
