[extropy-chat] Elvis Sightings (2)

[John K Clark]

"Keith Henson" <hkhenson at rogers.com>

> The problem with CF or whatever it is, is that (as far as I know) nobody
> has a theory about why this should occur.

No, that is not the problem. High Temperature Superconductors were
discovered about the same time cold fusion was "discovered". At the time
there was not a theory to explain either phenomenon and the same is true
today, but today you could not find a scientist who thinks High Temperature
Superconductors do not exist.

> places like Stanford and the U of Hawaii are some I remember.

And it what rag were those remarkable results published it? Or was it just a
website?

> I remember with near horror a time when a very senior scientist (not in
> geology) went off on a disjointed emotional rant that was scary to
> behold. (He was shaking with rage.) I was reading *his* copy of
>_Scientific American_ at his house and made some innocent comment
> about an article on plate tectonics.  Clark's "BULLSHIT" doesn't compare

You are quire correct, it does not compare. Plate tectonics was a theory and
until the mid 60's the evidence for it really wasn't very good. Nevertheless
it would have been inappropriate to go into a rant about it before that time
because a theory is enormously more difficult to disprove than a
experimental result.

If they had said I believe someday a way will be found to fuse hydrogen at
room temperature they might be wrong but they wouldn't be talking bullshit;
but whenever someone on this list confidently says people have been
routinely doing it for 17 years I'm going to label that remark for what it
is, BULLSHIT. I'm going to repeat something I've said twice before, a simple
very well publicized experiment that has been imposable to be confirmed for
17 years would be UNIQUE in the history of science.

Keith let's make a friendly little wager, if a pro cold fusion article (not
counting Muon-catalyzed cold fusion) appears in Nature or Science or
Physical Review Letters in the next year I will send you one dollar, if it
doesn't appear you will send me one dollar.

I would rate the possibility of seeing pro cold fusion about as likely as
seeing a pro Scientology article. Why? Because they are both BULLSHIT!

  John K Clark