Originally posted by StellarX
Originally posted by buddhasystem
Birkeland was a visionary scientist for sure, and ahead of its time, which happens, you know.
Ahead of his time? Why do you prescribe to the notion that some scientist are ahead of their time as if they pulled theories ideas from thin
air?
Some people have deeper insight than others. Does that susprise you?
Why are you so ready to dismiss the idea that other scientist could not have arrived at the very same conclusions if they were purely
interested in finding the truth?
There is only one criterion of truthfullness in physics, and that is whether the theory is in fact supported by experimental facts. I know that this
notion is intensely disliked by "armchair scientists". Now, until the magnetic field is indeed mapped out and the particle fluxes are measured, any
hypothesis is jsut that.
Why do the progression of the sciences so frequently depend on individual genius to move it along when there is supposedly so many great minds
working together to find the truth?
Well, try to take a graduate-level general relativity class and you'll understand why. Truth may be tougher to obtain than you think.
He's not alone among the scientists whose ideas could be truly proven only with advent of more advanced instruments (cf. atomic theory
of matter).
What do you mean his ideas could not be 'truly' proven?
Theories, again, are proven by experiment, whenever the capability for such an experiment arises. Do you have a problem with that?
Do you trust systems that keeps supporting mistakes?
When I enjoy a particularly powerful PC, or marvel at the wonderful pictures of Hyperion, I feel that the science, by and large, it working just fine.
You, somehow, want just all the correct results here and now. That's a pretty infantile attitude.
I really don't see your point. Birkeland did not have spacecraft to actually map out the magnetic field in space. So as brilliant as
his theory was, it was finally proven only recently.
Proof is a entirely subjective measure when vested interest
Well if this is how you define proof, I can't help you. I prefer the usual, scientific definition of proof -- design and build an apparatus, evaluate
its characteristics, do the measurements, analyze data, offer it for a review, publish it in an open refereed publication, so others have a chance to
question the method and the result. Follow up if necessary.
This is the cycle I follow in my research, and so does every serious scientist. Those who think that "proof is a subjective measure", on the other
hand, are not taken seriously.
" NASA never tried to hide the effects of the solar wind and its interaction with the Earth magnetosphere -- which cause all sorts of
trouble. "
That's what you claimed and rather than call you a a liar to your face
Well, that would make you look rather foolish, don't you think?
Since you did not seem to figure that out i can just state for a fact that NASA has fully played it's part in slowing down research in this
area by allocating astronomically large amounts of funds to a manned research that is exceedingly inefficient and wasteful. More specifically NASA has
held back research on nearby planets and the sun by refusing to use Hubble and other space instruments in such roles.
I see you have a beef with NASA over budgeting the Hubble time. Well, welcome to the real world, where there is competition for resources in science.
Some projects get canceled, some downsized, and only a paranoid type will speculate that there is a continuous nefarious agenda behind all of that.
but one of us knows that it can work far better if ALL of even the establishment indoctrinated scientist were allowed a fair chance at having
their voices heard and theories publicized. If we allowed such the science mavericks that so frequently arrive at the truth without formal
training
That's a cookie cutter post (I've seen quite a few here on ATS) coming from a person who, unfortunately, was not able to obtain formal training in
physics and compensates for this by blasting the "establishement" and basking in realization that his hindsight is always 20/20 and now he can say
"I told you! this maverick was a genius and the evil govt suppressed him!".
In addition, back to the topic at hand:
Birkeland was born in the Norwegian capital, Christiania (now Oslo), and studied in Paris, Geneva, and Bonn where he was a pupil of Robert Bunsen.
In 1898 he was appointed to the chair of physics in Oslo University.
Birkeland was highly trained, well connected and a part of the establishement. He was a physics chair, for gossake. AND he was a genius.