3 ms·
> seems like a lame excuse for saying “we don’t know”. Dark matter/energy aren’t excuses, they’re labels for things that behave like matter and energy but whos
by canjobear 5y ago
> seems like a lame excuse for saying “we don’t know”.
Dark matter/energy aren’t excuses, they’re labels for things that behave like matter and energy but whose nature is unknown.
- macintux 5y agoWell, dark matter at least to this layperson’s eye a label for observations that are most easily explained by matter, which is not quite the same as a “thing that behaves like matter”.
- hluska 5y agoJust for the record, I’m not trying to be a jerk - I’m a layperson too. However, in science, it’s important to understand that some of the “I don’t know”s are so incredibly precise they’re not intended for the layperson. Rather, many are precise models used to help experts communicate.
- aardvark179 5y agoNot exactly. Dark matter might reasonably considered a label for observations that are most easily explained by matter that only interacts with anything gravitationally. That’s really a quite strange property compared to all the other matter we see, but it does seem to explain a lot of things rather well.