LK-99 is So Over. Now What? | Hacker News Reader

LK-99 is So Over. Now What?

macroscience.org

2 pointsmef5 comments

from the article:

But the point is that Institutional Science and Meme Science can reach the same end through different routes: a claim is made, it is evaluated empirically, and a conclusion is finally drawn. In this, LK-99 represents a distinct engine of scientific progress that is anarchic, radically participatory, and unprecious about institutional authority.

It might go like that.

It might also take the path of Cold Fusion where a legion of true believers keeps the flame alive for years or decades. See

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathological_science

thats because you cant prove a negative, nothing pathological about it...pathological would be something like flat earthers, a completely different kind of fish

If your gizmo requires new physics then you are just as pathological as the flat earthers are absent any solid evidence. The whole thing is positioned as an 'us vs them' affair and the automatic insulation that leads to creates a near perfect echo chamber with people cheering each other on to go against the grain no matter how ridiculous the reasoning is. It's a perversion of science and I think 'pathological science' perfectly fits the bill.

Note that wishful thinking is a very strong component in pathological science and explicitly mentioned on that wikipedia page. This very much sits in line with my experience with 'the fringe' when they're trying to get funded for yet another decade of inevitable failure.

There is a weird thing going on with cold fusion. The wish that it is true is apparently so strong that it overcomes pretty much all reason, tenured professors get sucked in and there are fora where people are endlessly rehashing really, really bad arguments around physics that make no sense at all. You can even find some of it here on HN. This level of wishful thinking scares me because it is apparently perfectly possible to delude yourself to a degree that any kind of push to actually do science gets tossed out in a way that makes the subjects look like they are dealing with the inquisition.

The 'Standard Model' is considered a historical artifact in those circles, as though we are already long past it and have access to a completely new set of physics laws that allow the conversion of one thing into another by the mere application of some light (usually lasers) or some sound (a bit tainted now) to get you to fusion. Papers are written (and published, though usually in very low impact publications), funding is sought (I get these proposals with some regularity) and symposia are organized, true believer pass required. It really baffles me.

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