sapere aude: page three

Links: foundations, authoritarianism, critics of special relativity

Because of the foundational role of the 'space-time' analysis, special relativity (keyword anti-relativity) is here prominent as an example of cognitive failure. I do not list alternatives which typically ignore the mathematical origin of problems. There is unfortunately a great dearth of material critical of the epistemological foundations of physics as the quantitative inquiry into causes. (N.B.: The blind acceptance of paradoxical mathematical conclusions is a symptom of, at best, an authoritarian culture, and at worst, the blatant worship of unreason: 'truths that transcend the human intelligence'. sapere aude!)

Contents:
1. Directories
2. Challenging the foundations:
2.1. The geometry of movement
2.2. Two worlds: Ideas vs things
2.3. Policing the desire to understand
2.4. Objections to SR that ignore the mathematical background

1. Directories (A-Z by author):

A. Ferrigno: Heretic Hall (under construction).
http://www.geocities.com/antonioferrigno/link.html (14K+)

Andreas Hecht: Borderlands of Science. (Indiscriminate, but plenty of useful links missing elsewhere.)
http://www.borderlands.de/physics.php3 (regularly updated; 20K+)

Robert Markweger: Gegner der Relativitaetstheorie.
members.aon.at/markweger/Geg.htm (02.99; 9K)

N. Moch: Die alternative naturwissenschaftliche Literaturliste (A list of books by critics of physics, mostly in German).
http://www.datadiwan.de/moch/moch_1.htm (52.9K)

Wolfgang Neundorf: Einige interessante Links.
http://www.neundorf.de/Links/links.html (regularly updated; 41K+)

[dead link: search for new url in progress] Van Engen, Randall: Relativity Challenged.
http://www.vanengen.org/rdve/conspiracy/science/science.html (11.01; 4K)

2.Challenging the foundations:

Please note that listing does not imply agreement. However, in a culture which worships Einstein precisely because he is believed to be unintelligible, any honest grappling with conceptual problems may form part of a reasonable strategy to reinstate common sense. sapere aude: dare to think!

2.1. The geometry of movement

I list here efforts to unravel the quantitative paradox of special relativity: namely how a mere change of the unit of time measurement could lead to the logical conclusion that all quantities in coordinate systems in relative motion are reciprocally contracted. That is to say, we appear to be compelled to believe that any two quantities assumed to be co-extensive must be smaller than one another. A guiding principle in logic is that an argument issuing in paradox MUST contain a mistake. Unfortunately, efforts that do not tackle the 4D/3D confusion - status of the t-variable in the different 'algebras' and of quantities such as c in non-standard spaces - cannot get us much further. As starting points such efforts are valuable, nonetheless.
(N.B.: Understanding 'what this is about' cannot be had on the cheap: it requires thorough familiarity with Einstein's own 1905, 1917, 1922 expositions - available in paperback - and at least one exposition of the SR transformation 'algebra' by a professional mathematician.)

Lange, Erik J.: Proof of the falsity of the Special Theory of Relativity.
http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~ejlange/srt.html (1999-Jan.2001; 91K)

alternative url: http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~ejlange/SRT.html

Romero, Ferdinand: The Einstein's "theorem" of velocities composition like petitio principii fallacy.
http://www.deducing.com/teto.html (2002; 12K)

Todoroff, Georg, Dipl. - Mathematiker: Relativitaet der Gleichzeitigkeit.
home.t-online.de/home/Todoroff/relglei.htm (1999; 26K)

See also Die Zeitdilatation
home.t-online.de/home/Todoroff/zeitdil.htm (1999; 18K)

and Die Lorentz-Transformation
home.t-online.de/home/Todoroff/lt.htm (1999; 24K)

2.2. Two worlds: Ideas vs things

I list here efforts to break out of the vicious circle that has resulted from the failure to distinguish between abstractions (basic concepts of perceptual analysis - such as measure, extension, time - or concepts of mathematics - such as quantity, variable, dimension, space), on the one hand, and physical phenomena, on the other. In short, reclaiming common sense epistemology as defended by Aristotle: the world of ideas (Locke's Essay) construed by organisms as they grapple with the world of physically real things.

Hille, Helmut: Messen als Erkenntnisakt.
http://www.helmut-hille.de/lt5.html (1996; 33K)

Miller, Michael: Causality, Measurement and Space.
http://www.quackgrass.com/space.html (2/99; 39K)

See also Time, Clocks and Causality.
http://www.quackgrass.com/time.html (10/97; 41K)

Siepman, Dr. James P.: Why Time does not Exist.
http://www.journaloftheoretics.com/Editorials/Vol-3/e3-1.htm (2001; 11K)

Wyse, Alastair: Kantian ( or Hippy ) Physics 1: The Reality Heresy.
web.ukonline.co.uk/awyse/awrh.htm (2001; 112K)

2.3. Policing the desire to understand

2.3.1. Critics' pages:

Aspden, Dr. Harold: Lecture No. 2: Why Einstein was wrong.
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~haspdn/le02.htm (15/05/97; 20K+)

Babin, Walter: The Special Theory of Relativity: An analysis of the theoretical foundations.
With comprehensive supplements; frequently updated (correspondence, 'peer' responses).
www3.sympatico.ca/wbabin/paper/ (12K+)

Bjerknes, Christopher Jon: "Albert Einstein: The Incorrigible Plagiarist" (A description and excerpts from the book)
xtxinc.com (2002; 7K+)

Dissler, Walter: Geistige Invalidität: Führt der Glaube an Einsteins Relativitätstheorie zu einer gewissen Art geistiger Invalidität?
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ekkehard_Friebe/dissler.htm (1971; 20K)

Essen, Dr. Louis: Relativity.
http://www.btinternet.com/~time.lord/Relativity.html (undated; 30K)

Joke or Swindle? (1988 Article in Electronics & Wireless World, with comment by Michael Roll of The Campaign for Philosophical Freedom)
http://www.cfpf.org.uk/articles/scientists/essen.html (18K)

Galeczki, Dr. G. & Marquardt, Dr. P. "EPPUR SI MUOVE" - "Und sie bewegt sich doch!"
http://www.helmut-hille.de/galeczki.html (1997; 22K)

English version (excerpt) "EPPUR SI MUOVE" - Between Instrumentalism and Realism.
http://www.helmut-hille.de/realism.html (12K)

See also: Authors' reply: Der "Verriss" oder "Irrte Einstein" to review of their book, 1997 in PM.
http://www.solidaritaet.com/fusion/1998/2/einstei1.htm (1998; 6K)

and Authors' Gegendarstellung (Excerpt).
http://www.solidaritaet.com/fusion/1998/2/einstei2.htm (1998; 11K)

Munshi, Jamal: Dishonest deceptions (subsection on Einstein: "In our time, Einstein has replaced Newton as the monarch of physics. Einstein's disciples tend to crush all opponents...")
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ekkehard_Friebe/dishones.htm (1995; 42K)

Rado, Steven: Manifesto for Critics of Modern Physics.
http://www.wgn.net/~srado/Manifesto.html (09/02/00; 22K)

Schmidt, Dr. Wolfgang: Die natürliche Selektion der Theoretischen Physiker (in German).
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ekkehard_Friebe/schmidt.htm (1988; 17K)

Theocharis, Dr. T.: What is "Episteme"? The Meaning of "science" and "truth".
itis.volta.alessandria.it/episteme/ep4/ep4th1.htm (84K)

2.3.2. Orthodoxy

The establishment Credo: "Special relativity is one of the best-confirmed theories in history. ... Conservatives dislike Einstein because he was a Jew. ... Opposition to relativity for politico-cultural reasons and opposition to relativity as a legacy of anti-semitism are usually inextricably mixed." (Brad DeLong)

DeLong, Brad: Conservative Fear of Albert Einstein.
econ161.berkeley.edu/Comments/occasional/bethell.html (1997; 17.4K)

Farrell, John: (Gossip on the "anti-relativity underground")
http://www.salonmag.com/people/feature/2000/07/06/einstein/ (July 2000; 44.1K)

2.4. Objections to SR that ignore the mathematical background - A-Z by author

Note that the supposed problems arise solely because of the failure to pay attention to the essential distinction between variables used to denote, on the one hand, numbers, and, on the other, vector components. For the case as intended in physics (displacements referred to coordinate systems in relative motion), the SR solution is risibly false. Arguments that ignore this scandal are not only pointless but miss a historically unique opportunity to confront the problem of blind trust in mathematics.

Alford, Jeff; see papers in www3.sympatico.ca/wbabin/paper/papers.htm

Crotti, Marcelo A.: The Special Theory of Relativity. Concepts, foundations and critical analysis.
http://www.geocities.com/newmodel2k/Eng_index.html (frequently updated; 12K+)

De Witte, Roland: Einstein's theories of relativity critic (A Collection of papers).
home.planetinternet.be/~pin30390/critic.htm (1997/98; 4K+)

Doan, John: Twenty questions only Einstein can answer?
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/6039/twenty.html (22K)
For a review of his book, see http://www.alphalink.com.au/~jdx/muller.htm (39.3K)

Dulaney, Dr. Clarence L.: Simultaneity and Time Dilation.
mywebpage.netscape.com/clarencedulaney/SIMULTANEITY+AND+TIME+DILATION (11/01; 25K)

See also: Why "C"? mywebpage.netscape.com/clarencedulaney/WHY+C (11/01; 30K)

and Interlocking of the Principles of the Special Theory of Relativity mywebpage.netscape.com/clarencedulaney/INTERLOCKS+OF+STR (11/01; 20K)

Ferrigno, Antonio: Einstein's Light Postulate: A Matter of Convention?
http://www.geocities.com/antonioferrigno/npameating.html (June 2000; 37K)

See also: pagina di relatività (in Italian)
http://www.geocities.com/antonioferrigno/itrelativita.html (under construction; 25K+)

Keyser, Charles: Note on the Special Theory of Relativity.
http://members.aol.com/CHKeyser/private/Relativity/Relativity.htm (4.11.99; 15K)

Jansen, Maarten: A Note on Relativity.
http://www.maarten.net/Relativity/relativity.html (1998; 5K)

Marklin, Dr. George J.: Articles on Relativity and the Ether.
home.earthlink.net/~marklin/ (1K)

Marmet, Dr. Paul: Links to books and papers.
http://www.newtonphysics.on.ca/ (12/04/00; 12.3K)

Mehta, Ardeshir: The Single Best Argument Against Special Relativity or "The Emperor's New Clothes".
homepage.mac.com/ardeshir/RelativityDebunked.html (May 2001; 33K).

See also papers in www3.sympatico.ca/wbabin/paper/papers.htm

Müller, Francisco J.: (An experimental refutation.)
mywebpages.comcast.net/Deneb/muller.htm (26/01/00; 15K)

Nordberg, John T.: "Proof Relativity is Illogical".
http://www.grandunification.com/hypertext/Proof_Relativity_Illogical.html#Proof (14K)

Old version (with address, email): "The Illogical Circular Definitions within Relativity".
home.earthlink.net/~jtnordberg/Proof_Relativity_Illogical.html (1996; 10K)

Smid, Thomas: Physics Myths and Physics Facts: Flaws in Concepts and Theories of Modern Physics - Special Relativity.
http://www.physicsmyths.org.uk/index.html#specrel (regularly updated; 76K)

Tedenstig, Ove: EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY: A BRIEF ANALYSIS.
http://www.newphys.se/elektromagnum/physics/Tedenstig/EINSTEIN%27S%20THEORY%20OF%20RELATIVITY%20A%20BRIEF%20ANALYSIS%20941211 (02/01/95; 32K)

Traunmueller, Hartmut: Measurement of time and spatial distance. ("Einstein's theories are based on the denial of the possibility of ... 'absolute' measurements".) (16/03/00; 6K)
http://www.ling.su.se/staff/hartmut/uhr_abs.htm

alternative url: http://www.ling.su.se/staff/hartmut/uhr.htm

Wang, Ruyong: Papers on SR and GPS experiments.
condor.stcloudstate.edu/~ruwang/ (frequently updated; 7Kb+)