[…] […]

A note about the “method” of physics.

Surely physics is an experimental branch of knowledge and that all theories must be tested by experiments. The imagination involved in Physics is just not fantasy. This is because the physicist create a theory which explains all the given observations till now.So it can be better described as theory with bounds-the bounds of already known facts.

What Einstein meant when he said that line was not that Physics was just fantasy.He meant that what sometimes might be discarded as against experience is sometimes a result of improper techniques of observation.

In theoretical physics in this age any new theory has a concrete mathematical model and hence it can always be tested against the already known observations to check for its consistency.

I therefore doubt if the fantasies like gravity being a result of fairies can thrive as viable ideas in this age. I however am not against the fact that gravity could of course be shown to have some other explanation other than the mass related force law of Newton. In fact the general theory of relativity does precisely this. And the reason we accept the General Theory is because it explains some more observations that Newton’s gravitation could not. The point is therefore that the theories that seem perfectly rational at times could be rejected some time later due to the new (and probably subtle) observations that cannot be explained by it.

Your Point is coorect . Physics / Science is complete scientific phenomena .
It comes to us through observations and reasoning , experimenting , and then proving it .
A theory has go through stages :
1) Observations
2) hypotheses
3) experiment
4) If the expeiment results in the favour of hypotheses ; Only then it is approved as theory ,
Otherwise the process is repeated again from the stage 2 .

Moreover , a theory can applied to get other results .
As you have stated that pseudoscientists think the ball is brought down by the fairies ; then what makes a rocket/satellite go up in the universe .

Theory of gravity has laid foundation to majority of physics .
Many applications of its can be seen around in the normal surroundings .

What we lack here is uneducated people ; who live in centuries behind than the educated ones .

Even , a few days before , i read in a newspaper incident stating that a person , having a m.b.a degree along with his two young brothers tried to kill his own mother to get rid of their sister’s mother in law’s ghost , which they supposed,had taken control of their mother’s body .

Persons beleiving such things , are not mentally ill , but , they point of view is not changed .

Have you ever wondered , most of the people don’t even
like to study . They want degrees because they want to live . None/few in india understands the importance of studies / education .

Well , we are facing such kind of problems for decades . they can’t be eradicated at all , but controlled by making people realise it’s importance . And only steps taken by the government can help it . Last time , when B.J.P. approved of ’ Feel good compaign ’ , it proved out to be a great success .

Your article do highlights how mysticism clouds reason and how easy is to believe in something which looks apparent. However I have some reservations about your comments on quantum theory where you write
“But again now, the reason is being hurt and the mysticism is gaining roots, physicists assume that a quantum particle can propagate in various different paths in chorus, or reverse backwards in the time dimension line, or arbitrarily explode into and out of reality from nothingness.”

What is being stated by physicists are based on experimental facts and will surely undergo scientific rigor before they are accepted. Particle entanglement and quantum uncertainty is the fact of nature. Nature can be weird than we can hope. Its just that as long as we can make sense of the weirdness we should be ok.

OH COMEON, Stop hoodwinking people by posting a link of The Onion’s article as an authentic news source, or at least say that is a parody of Intelligent Design.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_falling

@ramanathan
if you think that someone/anyone is living for changing world, then it is your fault. Person lives for him/herself.
About the hypocrisy you showed and tried to act smartass, I am not at all concerned about world; I am concerned about my freedom of expression.
I have right to criticize and hit you if I see you acting dumb and irrational. You may call it whatever.
I am not here to cure the superstitious society, I am here to condemn and criticize it, and that is what is being done in here, be in the post or in the comments.

And for those it is written here.

Noticed your hypocrisy!

@shumit
well, yes, you are right about the USA. Yet, Indian situations are more dreafull, or may be it is just because I am living here hence can see things happening here.
I know how childrens were killed and sexually harrassed at YFZ Ranch. It’s nothing but superstition and must be condemned.

Almost all over world such things keep happening.
Just right now I am hearing news at IBN7 that three brothers killded there mother and tried to kill 4 other women just because of superstition and madness as they believed some ghost is influencing their mother.

Superstitions and ill-rituals are so common everywhere.
This is Incredible India! Infants thrown off roofs to thank God

Now see this, a national political party playing superstition card Gowdas vs girls: Cong plays superstition card.
This is 21st century’s India.

Your comments are particularly relevant about how people’s minds revolve in the irrational even though they are supposed to be thinking, logical, rational people (eg science teacher killing his daughter).

However, I wonder what hope India has when even in the USA, people are leaning more and more towards the nonsense of creationism, to the point where it is being actively taught in schools in parallel with darwinism/evolution and in some cases, replacing it altogether.

This is done with the consent of families, faculty and politicians, which disgusts me and a lot of people around the world! If the USA is doing this, with all it’s wealth and education, then what hope do the Indians of today have, who spend most of their lives following the American ways like mindless sheep?

@sourav

Further hypocrisy.
so you want to say that if someone believe and preaches that som fairies pulls you down the earth thats why you remain on earth, then it is My duty to prove that you are a quack?
Sorry, its not my duty, though if you have any reason to support your fairy tales, you can put forward, either it will be criticised or will be discarded.

If you believe that killing girls will give you son, or your palm lines or Tarot Cards will show your fate, then its your duty to show any valid reason. otherwise it is your madness and will be critisized. Even Vedic science discards such lunacies and myths and superstitions.
And who cares, you can keep following your superstitions, you will be criticised properly each time the wrong will be done.

Freedom of expression is fundamental right.

well news channel are becoming more like entertainment channels…..and sorry to say that but i didn’t quite understood clearly the second part of the article!!

however irrational they may seem,i think v r not in a position to comment on these unless n untill v ourselves make a thorough study of these aspects.

@Karthick

and yep, the article was not written to ask for your support or denial.

The article was written to criticize people like you, who believes their myths and superstitions discarding all reason, and wants respect for doing so too.

@Karthick

Your first post simply showed your class.
Now when you do respect all that madness, you can surely practice it too.

Give your money to tarot cards players, enjoy the looters showing your palm lines and fates, don’t let your children understand simple reasons, and announce the mystical ideas you believe in.

You are free to do so, no one is restricting you!

But it is my right to criticize the wrong and unreasonable.

You feel hurt by that? I don’t care.

When you can respect criminals, quacks, illiterate ojhas and fakirs who even can’t write and believe that they will cure your illnesses and diseases, when you can believe that by sacrificing your girl child, you may get a son, when you believe that girl is a sign of bad fate for you, when you believe that if an apple falls on earth, then it is not the simple law of gravity acting on it, but some Lord Hanuman, or some fairy queens or some invisible power which is bringing it down, or may be demon power which forces it down?
When you are willing to respect superstitions and all wrongs from witchcraft to corporeal punishments to dowry to “Sati Pratha”,
and you want others to respect it too, then surely the question arises, why won’t you treat your children, your mother and sister same way?

Afterall you do respect the same ways.

“why dont you burn your mother and sister?” - You really do have a lot of class, don’t you? Do you go through some sort of training for cheap shots?

I get the picture though from the comments above mine. All is well as long as everyone agrees with you. The minute someone differs, the daggers are out.

Go on & give your next best shot at me. Wouldn’t want to deprive you of your unbelievably classy retorts. Make it good ‘cos this is my last comment on this post.

@Karthick

Lol again hypocrisy?
You have no sense of no sense of acknowledging different points of views.

You have only one sense, and that to never reasonify and have a decision.

A is always A no matters what view you see it.

and, myths and superstitions only I am talking of. No other problem included.

what is not myth? is considering girl child as bad fate not a myth? is dahej not a bad culture and myth based entity?
Is sacrificing young children and killing them is not a myth based crime?

Is keeping a psychological patient in chains and beatinghim is not a myth?

So according to you, the burning of that woman in bihar was respectfull?

Shame on you.

anyways you can keep respecting such activities.

why dont you burn your mother and sister?

The post was directed at myth, Tarot philosophy and the mysteries of physics. I replied to these specific points. If YOU choose to extend my point of view to a whole plethora of contentious issues, then it’s not exactly my problem is it?

“Anyways, you are not expected to use brains, as you already accepted you neither have brains, nor have time to use brains.” - I guess this says a lot about you. You have no idea about me, but are able to come up with a brilliant summary of me. Yes, I agree I do not have much of brains. But I am happy being what I am, naive, without brains than be someone with tonnes of brain, but without a sense to acknowledge different points of view.

@Karthick

lol, so you want to say that you must respect ojhas and aghoris sacrificing human life for their mystiques. (because they know more than a reason oriented science knowing person).
You must respect the Devdasis, and temple ***** systems too, because some people trust in it.

You must respect dahej and wife-beating and burning too, because some people follows it.

You must not use your brain to understand whether the Tarrots card or Palmestry or astrology type of “Pakhand” Pseudo-science have any reasonable base or not.
Because you think your brain is Hogwash and you can’t think while those cheaters and quacks knows more.

You must respect blackmagicians and looters and rapists and preachers too because obviously you don’t have brains while those savage people have got some.

So why not respect terrorists, maoists, killers and bank looters?
They have their own trains of thoughts.
why hypocrisy against criminals?
Their thought is to do crime, loot exort and kill. they believe in that. why putting them in jails and punishing them?

Anyways, you are not expected to use brains, as you allready accepted you neither have brains, nor have time to use brains.

There are certain people who strongly believe in Tarot cards, predicting the future, the mystery of our past life, the concept of gravity & mythology. Their belief must be based on some background that they feel strongly for. Most of us probably do not have the time to sit & muse about the mysteries of life. Maybe they have the time :)

Perceptions are different & I guess we need to respect all trains of thought, however absurd they might seem.

Hey nice stuff as usual!! its been a long time since I visited ur blog!! keep it up!!

yeah..spot on..there so much of unfounded reasoning nowadays and i couldnt agree more with u on the fact thT the news agencies have become such a sad part of it..tarot cards and predictions and what not..

shd i say a gd eyeopener???!!!

a good article :-)
yr effort is in the right direction and it / these would help deepen the root of rationalism and objectivity in India. May yr ilk grow large :-)