5 ms·

I liked the time when Avi yelled at the director of SETI, Jill Tarter (inspiration for the fictional Ellie Arroway from the movie Contact), whose life's work ha

I liked the time when Avi yelled at the director of SETI, Jill Tarter (inspiration for the fictional Ellie Arroway from the movie Contact), whose life's work has been searching for ETs for not searching for ETs in the right way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY985qzn7oI&t=1879s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY985qzn7oI&t=1879s

DemocracyFTW2 3y ago
Highly recommended to watch the entire video and also check out the other stuff by Angela Collier (formerly acollierastro). Also funny that Avi takes string theory as an example of mainstream science. Some scientists are not sure it's science at all because it was never based on anything but assumptions.
- reaperman 3y ago
  Has string theory ever led to important testable predictions? I’m very out of the loop on theoretical physics.
  - nick238 3y ago
    Collier has a video on the history of string theory as a narrative and how it kinda tainted the public perception of high energy/particle physics: "String theory lied to us and now science communication is hard" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kya_LXa_y1E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kya_LXa_y1E
  - DemocracyFTW2 3y ago
    Microsoft Copilot seems to agree with me that the answer is No, it has not
    - klyrs 3y ago
      For whatever it's worth, my cousin's baby agrees with your copilot; my pinky toenail is refusing to answer. That's a pretty good signal, 2/3 non-experts can't be wrong. Edit: my apologies, the baby changed their answer when they realized the question wasn't an offer of string cheese. Results are inconclusive.
  - defrost 3y ago
    There was a big HN thread 19 hours ago on "20 years of Not Even Wrong* that's worth a gander: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39753115 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39753115
  - bdjsiqoocwk 3y ago
    String theory predicts special relativity.
throwway120385 3y ago
The conclusion I draw when I watch the evidence presented in this video is that Avi Loeb is a narcissist who's made his way into the big leagues and is finding out that tooting your own horn doesn't work on people like Jill Tarter.
bsoles 3y ago
The second-hand embarrassment I had watching that video was unbearable. Social media did a number on those scientists with "big personalities". It is one thing that influencers and grifters get a platform on social media. But it is another thing, and more harmful, when people with credentials and power abuse those platforms. Look at Avi Loeb, Jordan Peterson, all the science/physics gurus going crazy with an ever-increasing desperation to stay in the limelight...

DemocracyFTW2 3y ago

Highly recommended to watch the entire video and also check out the other stuff by Angela Collier (formerly acollierastro). Also funny that Avi takes string theory as an example of mainstream science. Some scientists are not sure it's science at all because it was never based on anything but assumptions.

reaperman 3y ago
Has string theory ever led to important testable predictions? I’m very out of the loop on theoretical physics.
- nick238 3y ago
  Collier has a video on the history of string theory as a narrative and how it kinda tainted the public perception of high energy/particle physics: "String theory lied to us and now science communication is hard" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kya_LXa_y1E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kya_LXa_y1E
- DemocracyFTW2 3y ago
  Microsoft Copilot seems to agree with me that the answer is No, it has not
  - klyrs 3y ago
    For whatever it's worth, my cousin's baby agrees with your copilot; my pinky toenail is refusing to answer. That's a pretty good signal, 2/3 non-experts can't be wrong. Edit: my apologies, the baby changed their answer when they realized the question wasn't an offer of string cheese. Results are inconclusive.
- defrost 3y ago
  There was a big HN thread 19 hours ago on "20 years of Not Even Wrong* that's worth a gander: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39753115 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39753115
- bdjsiqoocwk 3y ago
  String theory predicts special relativity.

throwway120385 3y ago

The conclusion I draw when I watch the evidence presented in this video is that Avi Loeb is a narcissist who's made his way into the big leagues and is finding out that tooting your own horn doesn't work on people like Jill Tarter.

bsoles 3y ago

The second-hand embarrassment I had watching that video was unbearable. Social media did a number on those scientists with "big personalities". It is one thing that influencers and grifters get a platform on social media. But it is another thing, and more harmful, when people with credentials and power abuse those platforms. Look at Avi Loeb, Jordan Peterson, all the science/physics gurus going crazy with an ever-increasing desperation to stay in the limelight...