Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Overview
These notes cover the development of the current scientific concepts of space
and time through history, emphasizing the newest developments and ideas.
The presentation will be non-mathematical: the concepts will be introduced
and explained, but no real calculations will be performed. The various
concepts will be introduced in a historical order (whenever possible), this
provides a measure of understanding as to how the ideas on which the mod-
ern theory of space and time is based were developed. In a real sense this
has been an adventure for humanity, very similar to what a child undergoes
from the moment he or she first looks at the world to the point he or she
understands some of its rules. Part of this adventure will be told here.
Every single culture has had a theory of the formation of the universe
and the laws that rule it. Such a system is called a cosmology (from the
Greek kosmos: world, and logia from legein: to speak). The first coherent
non-religious cosmology was developed during ancient Greece, and much
attention will be paid to it after a brief overview of Egyptian and Baby-
onian comologies 1 The system of the world devised by the Greeks described
correctly all phenomena known at the time, and was able to predict most
astronomical phenomena with great accuracy. Its most refined version, the
Ptolemaic system, survived for more than one thousand years.
1
A few other comologies will be only summarily described. This is for lack of erudition,
Indian, Chinese and American comologies are equally fascinating.

1
2

These promising developments came to a stop during the Middle Ages,

but took off with a vengeance during the Renaissance; the next landmark in
this saga. During this time Copernicus developed his system of the world,
where the center of the Universe was the Sun and not the Earth. In the
same era Galileo defined and developed the science of mechanics with all its
basic postulates; he was also the creator of the idea of relativity, later used
by Einstein to construct his Special and General theories.
The next great player was Isaac Newton, who provided a framework
for understanding all the phenomena known at the time. In fact most of
our daily experience is perfectly well described by Newtons mathematical
formulae.
The cosmology based on the ideas of Galileo and Newton reigned supreme
up until the end of the 19th century: by this time it became clear that New-
tons laws were unable to describe correctly electric and magnetic phenom-
ena. It is here that Einstein enters the field, he showed that the Newtonian
approach does not describe correctly situations in which bodies move at
speeds close to that of light ( in particular it does not describe light accu-
rately). Einstein also provided the generalization of Newtons equations to
the realm of such high speeds: the Special Theory of Relativity. Perhaps
more importantly, he also demonstrated that certain properties of space and
time taken for granted are, in fact, incorrect. We will see, for example, that
the concept of two events occurring at the same time in different places is
not absolute, but depends on the state of motion of the observer.
Not content with this momentous achievements, Einstein argued that the
Special Theory of Relativity itself was inapplicable under certain conditions,
for example, near very heavy bodies. He then provided the generalization
which encompasses these situations as well: the General Theory of Relativ-
ity. This is perhaps the most amazing development in theoretical physics in
300 years: without any experimental motivation, Einstein single handedly
developed this modern theory of gravitation and used it to predict some of
the most surprising phenomena observed to date. These include the bending
of light near heavy bodies and the existence of black holes, massive objects
whose gravitational force is so strong it traps all objects, including light.
These notes provide an overview of this saga. From the Greeks and their
measuring of the Earth, to Einstein and his description of the universe. But
before plunging into this, it is natural to ask how do scientific theories are
born, and why are they discarded. Why is it that we believe Einstein is
right and Aristotle is wrong? Why is it that we claim that our current
understating of the universe is deeper than the one achieved by the early
Greeks? The answer to these questions lies in the way in which scientists
 3

evaluate the information derived from observations and experiments, and is

the subject of the next section.

1.2 The scientific method

Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined,
logical search for knowledge about any and all as-
pects of the universe, obtained by examination of
the best available evidence and always subject to
correction and improvement upon discovery of bet-
ter evidence. Whats left is magic. And it doesnt
work.
James Randi

It took a long while to determine how is the world better investigated.

One way is to just talk about it (for example Aristotle, the Greek philoso-
pher, stated that males and females have different number of teeth, without
bothering to check; he then provided long arguments as to why this is the
way things ought to be). This method is unreliable: arguments cannot
determine whether a statement is correct, this requires proofs.
A better approach is to do experiments and perform careful observations.
The results of this approach are universal in the sense that they can be
reproduced by any skeptic. It is from these ideas that the scientific method
was developed. Most of science is based on this procedure for studying
Nature.

1.2.1 What is the scientific method?

The scientific method is the best way yet discovered for winnowing the truth
from lies and delusion. The simple version looks something like this:

1. Observe some aspect of the universe.

2. Invent a tentative description, called a hypothesis, that is consistent
with what you have observed.
3. Use the hypothesis to make predictions.
4. Test those predictions by experiments or further observations and
modify the hypothesis in the light of your results.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies between theory
and experiment and/or observation.
 4

Figure 1.1: Flow diagram describing the scientific method.

When consistency is obtained the hypothesis becomes a theory and pro-

vides a coherent set of propositions which explain a class of phenomena.
A theory is then a framework within which observations are explained and
predictions are made.
The scientific method is The great advantage of the scientific method is that it is unprejudiced:
unprejudiced one does not have to believe a given researcher, one can redo the experiment
and determine whether his/her results are true or false. The conclusions
will hold irrespective of the state of mind, or the religious persuasion, or
the state of consciousness of the investigator and/or the subject of the in-
vestigation. Faith, defined as 2 belief that does not rest on logical proof or
material evidence, does not determine whether a scientific theory is adopted
or discarded.
A theory is accepted not based on the prestige or convincing powers of
the proponent, but on the results obtained through observations and/or ex-
2
The American Heritage Dictionary (second college edition)
 5

periments which anyone can reproduce: the results obtained using the scien-
tific method are repeatable. In fact, most experiments and observations are The results obtained using
repeated many times (certain experiments are not repeated independently the scientific method are
repeatable
but are repeated as parts of other experiments). If the original claims are
not verified the origin of such discrepancies is hunted down and exhaustively
studied.
When studying the cosmos we cannot perform experiments; all informa-
tion is obtained from observations and measurements. Theories are then
devised by extracting some regularity in the observations and coding this
into physical laws.
There is a very important characteristic of a scientific theory or hypoth-
esis which differentiates it from, for example, an act of faith: a theory must
be falsifiable. This means that there must be some experiment or possible Every scientific theory must
discovery that could prove the theory untrue. For example, Einsteins the- be falsifiable

ory of Relativity made predictions about the results of experiments. These

experiments could have produced results that contradicted Einstein, so the
theory was (and still is) falsifiable.
In contrast, the theory that the moon is populated by little green men
who can read our minds and will hide whenever anyone on Earth looks for
them, and will flee into deep space whenever a spacecraft comes near is not
falsifiable: these green men are designed so that no one can ever see them.
On the other hand, the theory that there are no little green men on the
moon is scientific: you can disprove it by catching one. Similar arguments
apply to abominable snow-persons, UFOs and the Loch Ness Monster(s?).
A frequent criticism made of the scientific method is that it cannot ac-
commodate anything that has not been proved. The argument then points
out that many things thought to be impossible in the past are now every-
day realities. This criticism is based on a misinterpretation of the scientific
method. When a hypothesis passes the test it is adopted as a theory it
correctly explains a range of phenomena it can, at any time, be falsified by
new experimental evidence. When exploring a new set or phenomena scien-
tists do use existing theories but, since this is a new area of investigation,
it is always kept in mind that the old theories might fail to explain the new
experiments and observations. In this case new hypotheses are devised and
tested until a new theory emerges.
There are many types of pseudo-scientific theories which wrap them-
selves in a mantle of apparent experimental evidence but that, when exam-
ined closely, are nothing but statements of faith. The argument 3 , cited by
3
From http://puffin.ptialaska.net/~svend/award.html
 6

some creationists, that science is just another kind of faith is a philosophic

stance which ignores the trans-cultural nature of science. Sciences theory
of gravity explains why both creationists and scientists dont float off the
earth. All you have to do is jump to verify this theory no leap of faith
required.

1.2.2 What is the difference between a fact, a theory and a

hypothesis?
In popular usage, a theory is just a vague and fuzzy sort of fact and a
hypothesis is often used as a fancy synonym to guess. But to a scientist
a theory is a conceptual framework that explains existing observations and
A theory is a conceptual predicts new ones. For instance, suppose you see the Sun rise. This is an
framework that explains existing observation which is explained by the theory of gravity proposed
existing observations and
predicts new ones by Newton. This theory, in addition to explaining why we see the Sun
move across the sky, also explains many other phenomena such as the path
followed by the Sun as it moves (as seen from Earth) across the sky, the
phases of the Moon, the phases of Venus, the tides, just to mention a few.
You can today make a calculation and predict the position of the Sun, the
phases of the Moon and Venus, the hour of maximal tide, all 200 years from
now. The same theory is used to guide spacecraft all over the Solar System.
A hypothesis is a working A hypothesis is a working assumption. Typically, a scientist devises a hy-
assumption pothesis and then sees if it holds water by testing it against available data
(obtained from previous experiments and observations). If the hypothesis
does hold water, the scientist declares it to be a theory.

1.2.3 Truth and proof in science.

Experiments sometimes produce results which cannot be explained with
existing theories. In this case it is the job of scientists to produce new
theories which replace the old ones. The new theories should explain all
the observations and experiments the old theory did and, in addition, the
new set of facts which lead to their development. One can say that new
theories devour and assimilate old ones (see Fig, 1.2). Scientists continually
test existing theories in order to probe how far can they be applied.
When a new theory cannot explain new observations it will be (eventu-
ally) replaced by a new theory. This does not mean that the old ones are
wrong or untrue, it only means that the old theory had a limited appli-
cability and could not explain all current data. The only certain thing about
currently accepted theories is that they explain all available data, which, if
 7

Figure 1.2: Saturn devouring his sons (by F. Goya). A paradigm of how
new theories encompass old ones.

course, does not imply that they will explains all future experiments!
In some cases new theories provide not only extensions of old ones, but a
completely new insight into the workings of nature. Thus when going from
Newtons theory of gravitation to Einsteins our understanding of the nature
of space and time was revolutionized. Nonetheless, no matter how beautiful
and simple a new theory might be, it must explain the same phenomena the
old one did. Even the most beautiful theory can be annihilated by a single
ugly fact.
Scientific theories have various degrees of reliability and one can think
of them as being on a scale of certainty. Up near the top end we have our
theory of gravitation based on a staggering amount of evidence; down at the
bottom we have the theory that the Earth is flat. In the middle we have
our theory of the origin of the moons of Uranus. Some scientific theories are
nearer the top than others, but none of them ever actually reach it.
An extraordinary claim is one that contradicts a fact that is close to the
top of the certainty scale and will give rise to a lot of skepticism. So if you
are trying to contradict such a fact, you had better have facts available that
are even higher up the certainty scale: extraordinary evidence is needed
for an extraordinary claim.

1.2.4 If scientific theories keep changing, where is the Truth?

In 1666 Isaac Newton proposed his theory of gravitation. This was one of the
greatest intellectual feats of all time. The theory explained all the observed
facts, and made predictions that were later tested and found to be correct
within the accuracy of the instruments being used. As far as anyone could
 8

see, Newtons theory was the Truth.

During the nineteenth century, more accurate instruments were used to
test Newtons theory, these observations uncovered some slight discrepan-
cies. Albert Einstein proposed his theories of Relativity, which explained
the newly observed facts and made more predictions. Those predictions
have now been tested and found to be correct within the accuracy of the
instruments being used. As far as anyone can see, Einsteins theory is the
Truth.
So how can the Truth change? Well the answer is that it hasnt. The
Universe is still the same as it ever was. When a theory is said to be true
When a theory is said to be it means that it agrees with all known experimental evidence. But even the
true it means that it best of theories have, time and again, been shown to be incomplete: though
agrees with all known
experimental evidence they might explain a lot of phenomena using a few basic principles, and
even predict many new and exciting results, eventually new experiments
(or more precise ones) show a discrepancy between the workings of nature
and the predictions of the theory. In the strict sense this means that the
theory was not true after all; but the fact remains that it is a very good
approximation to the truth, at lest where a certain type of phenomena is
concerned.
When an accepted theory cannot explain some new data (which has been
confirmed), the researchers working in that field strive to construct a new
theory. This task gets increasingly more difficult as our knowledge increases,
for the new theory should not only explain the new data, but also all the
old one: a new theory has, as its first duty, to devour and assimilate its
predecessors.
One other note about truth: science does not make moral judgments.
Anyone who tries to draw moral lessons from the laws of nature is on very
dangerous ground. Evolution in particular seems to suffer from this. At one
time or another it seems to have been used to justify Nazism, Communism,
and every other -ism in between. These justifications are all completely
bogus. Similarly, anyone who says evolution theory is evil because it is
used to support Communism (or any other -ism) has also strayed from the
path of Logic (and will not live live long nor prosper).

1.2.5 What is Ockhams Razor?

When a new set of facts requires the creation of a new theory the process is
far from the orderly picture often presented in books. Many hypothses are
proposed, studied, rejected. Researchers discuss their validity (sometimes
quite heatedly) proposing experiments which will determine the validity of
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one or the other, exposing flaws in their least favorite ones, etc. Yet, even
when the unfit hypotheses are discarded, several options may remain, in
some cases making the exact same predictions, but having very different
underlying assumptions. In order to choose among these possible theories a
very useful tool is what is called Ockhams razor.
Ockhams Razor is the principle proposed by William of Ockham in the
fourteenth century: Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate, which
translates as entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily.
In many cases this is interpreted as keep it simple, but in reality the
Razor has a more subtle and interesting meaning. Suppose that you have two
competing theories which describe the same system, if these theories have
different predictions than it is a relatively simple matter to find which one is
better: one does experiments with the required sensitivity and determines
which one give the most accurate predictions. For example, in Copernicus
theory of the solar system the planets move in circles around the sun, in
Keplers theory they move in ellipses. By measuring carefully the path of
the planets it was determined that they move on ellipses, and Copernicus
theory was then replaced by Keplers.
But there are are theories which have the very same predictions and it
is here that the Razor is useful. Consider form example the following two
theories aimed at describing the motions of the planets around the sun

The planets move around the sun in ellipses because there is a force
between any of them and the sun which decreases as the square of the
distance.

The planets move around the sun in ellipses because there is a force
between any of them and the sun which decreases as the square of the
distance. This force is generated by the will of some powerful aliens.

Since the force between the planets and the sun determines the motion of
the former and both theories posit the same type of force, the predicted
motion of the planets will be identical for both theories. the second theory,
however, has additional baggage (the will of the aliens) which is unnecessary
for the description of the system.
If one accepts the second theory solely on the basis that it predicts cor-
rectly the motion of the planets one has also accepted the existence of aliens
whose will affect the behavior of things, despite the fact that the presence
or absence of such beings is irrelevant to planetary motion (the only rel-
evant item is the type of force). In this instance Ockhams Razor would
unequivocally reject the second theory. By rejecting this type of additional
10

irrelevant hypotheses guards against the use of solid scientific results (such
as the prediction of planetary motion) to justify unrelated statements (such
as the existence of the aliens) which may have dramatic consequences. In
this case the consequence is that the way planets move, the reason we fall to
the ground when we trip, etc. is due to some powerful alien intellect, that
this intellect permeates our whole solar system, it is with us even now...and
from here an infinite number of paranoid derivations.
For all we know the solar system is permeated by an alien intellect, but
the motion of the planets, which can be explained by the simple idea that
there is a force between them and the sun, provides no evidence of the aliens
presence nor proves their absence.
A more straightforward application of the Razor is when we are face
with two theories which have the same predictions and the available data
cannot distinguish between them. In this case the Razor directs us to study
in depth the simplest of the theories. It does not guarantee that the simplest
theory will be correct, it merely establishes priorities.
A related rule, which can be used to slice open conspiracy theories, is
Hanlons Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately
explained by stupidity.

1.2.6 How much fraud is there in science?

The picture of scientists politely discussing theories, prposing new ones in
view of new data, etc. appears to be completely devoid of any emotions. In
fact this is far from the truth, the discussions are very human, even though
the bulk of the scientific community will eventually accept a single theory
based on it explaining the data and making a series of verified predictions.
But before this is achieved, does it happen that researchers fake results
or experiments for prestige and/or money? How frequent is this kind of
scientific fraud?
In its simplest form this question is unanswerable, since undetected fraud
is by definition unmeasurable. Of course there are many known cases of fraud
in science. Some use this to argue that all scientific findings (especially those
they dislike) are worthless.
This ignores the replication of results which is routinely undertaken by
scientists. Any important result will be replicated many times by many
different people. So an assertion that (for instance) scientists are lying
about carbon-14 dating requires that a great many scientists are engaging in
a conspiracy. In fact the existence of known and documented fraud is a good
illustration of the self-correcting nature of science. It does not matter (for
 11

the progress of science) if a proportion of scientists are fraudsters because

any important work they do will not be taken seriously without independent
verification.
Also, most scientists are idealists. They perceive beauty in scientific
truth and see its discovery as their vocation. Without this most would
have gone into something more lucrative. These arguments suggest that
undetected fraud in science is both rare and unimportant.
The above arguments are weaker in medical research, where companies
frequently suppress or distort data in order to support their own products.
Tobacco companies regularly produce reports proving that smoking is
harmless, and drug companies have both faked and suppressed data related
to the safety or effectiveness or major products. This type of fraud does
not, of course, reflect on the validity of the scientific method.

1.2.7 Are scientists wearing blinkers?

One of the commonest allegations against mainstream science is that its
practitioners only see what they expect to see. Scientists often refuse to test
fringe ideas because science tells them that this will be a waste of time
and effort. Hence they miss ideas which could be very valuable.
This is the blinkers argument, by analogy with the leather shields
placed over horses eyes so that they only see the road ahead. It is often put
forward by proponents of new-age beliefs and alternative health.
It is certainly true that ideas from outside the mainstream of science can
have a hard time getting established. But on the other hand the opportunity
to create a scientific revolution is a very tempting one: wealth, fame and
Nobel prizes tend to follow from such work. So there will always be one or
two scientists who are willing to look at anything new.
If you have such an idea, remember that the burden of proof is on you.
The new theory should explain the existing data, provide new predictions
and should be testable; remember that all scientific theories are falsifiable.
Read the articles and improve your theory in the light of your new knowl-
edge. Starting a scientific revolution is a long, hard slog. Dont expect it to
be easy. If it was, we would have them every week. People putting forward
extraordinary claims often refer to Galileo as an example of a great genius
being persecuted by the establishment for heretic theories. They claim that
the scientific establishment is afraid of being proved wrong, and hence is
trying to suppress the truth. This is a classic conspiracy theory. The Con-
spirators are all those scientists who have bothered to point out flaws in the
claims put forward by the researchers. The usual rejoinder to someone who
12

says They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Galileo is to say But

they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.

1.2.8 Why should we worry?

I have argued that the scientific method provides an excellent guideline for
studying the world around us. It is, of course, conceivable that there are
other planes of thought but their presence and properties, and what may
happen in them is a matter of belief.
Through time alternative sciences regularly rise their head and are
debunked. One might be bothered about their presence since it does say
something less than flattering about human psychology. But even if one
defends these beliefs on the basis of free speech, one should be aware that
they sometimes represent more than idle talk. For example, there is this
recent news article

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: REPORT SEEKS TO TAKE NIH INTO A

NEW AGE! What may rank as the most credulous document in medical
history was unveiled yesterday in a Senate conference room. Senator Tom
Harkin (D-IA), who fathered the 1991 legislation that created the NIH Office
of Alternative Medicine, admitted that the program had gotten off to a slow
start due to opposition from traditional medicine. It should soar now; the
420-page report, Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons, lays
out an OAM agenda for research into everything from Lakota medicine wheels
to laying on of hands and homeopathic medicines. Homeopathic medicines
employ dilutions far beyond the point at which a single molecule would re-
main, but the water remembers. Where does physics fit in? Well, when
really weird things happen, like mental healing at a distance, it must be quan-
tum mechanics (Brian Josephson is cited for authority). Medical ethics are
not ignored; the possibility of distant organisms being harmed by non-local
mental influence is raised, and board certification of mental healers is pro-
posed to protect consumers from predatory quacks. An entire chapter is
devoted to Bioelectromagnetics. This is tricky stuff: Weak EMF may,
at the proper frequency and site of application, produce large effects that are
either clinically beneficial or harmful. 4

It truly is amazing that people will even consider this statement. In fact
it is not dismissed because it refers to science, but imagine a similar situation
4
Extracted from Whats New, by Robert L. Park (March 3, 1995) produced by The
American Physical Society.
 13

where really important matters are involved, such as money. suppose a

banker were to empty an account and claim that, even though there is no
money left, the owner of the account is just as rich because his bank book
still remembers the balance and that this miraculous memory of wealth
past can be used to cure the owners credit-card balance. Without a doubt
this banker would end up in jail or in the loony bin.
Various tests using the scientific method have proven the fallacy of the
water with deep memory theory. Yet these items are seriously consid-
ered and sometimes funded by Congress, diverting monies from important
programs such as education. In the OAM has had an interesting and con-
troversial history 5 , despite this it has a budget of $12 million; in 1993-1994
it dispersed about 10% of this in grants.
This is not a unique occurrence. There are many many claims which use
high-sounding scientific jargon; for example J. Randi 6 mentions that the
NIH Office of Alternative Medicine has given credence to such claims as a
cure for multiple sclerosis (despite the fact that the staff must know there is
no such thing). When such startling claims are investigated, they are found
to be merely ridiculous statements. If you are curious about these I provide
a list of WWW sites for your amusement

A page of links, ranging from free universal energy claims to antigrav-

ity, is found in http://www.padrak.com/ine/SUBJECTS.html

Free energy http://jabi.com/ucsa/ which is exposed in

http://www.voicenet.com/~eric/dennis.html

Perpetual motion machines http://www.overunity.de/finsrud.htm

Products that miraculously improve your cars performance

http://widget.ecn.purdue.edu/~feiereis/magic.html

Flat Earth Society links (pro and against)

http://www.town.hanna.ab.ca/hemaruka/hemlinks.htm.

And yes, in case you are wondering, some of these people are serious.
It is important to differentiate between these pseudo-scientific cre-
ations and true science-based developments. Pseudo-science is either not
5
See for example, http://www.nas.org/nassnl/2-11.htm,
http://cyberwarped.com/~gcahf/ncahf/newslett/nl19-2.html,
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-08/10/097l-081097-idx.html
6
http://www.mindspring.com/~anson/randi-hotline/1995/0046.html
14

falsifiable or its results cannot be reproduced in a laboratory. If anything

like this were to happen to a scientific hypothesis it would be dismissed
forthright independently of the, belief, feelings, etc. of the researchers.
Below I present excerpts from an essay by R. Feynman on this same
issue 7 .

Cargo Cult Science (excerpts)

by Richard Feynman
During the Middle Ages there were all kinds of crazy ideas, such as that a piece
of of rhinoceros horn would increase potency. Then a method was discovered for
separating the ideaswhich was to try one to see if it worked, and if it didnt work,
to eliminate it. This method became organized, of course, into science. And it
developed very well, so that we are now in the scientific age. It is such a scientific
age, in fact, that we have difficulty in understanding how witch doctors could ever
have existed, when nothing that they proposed ever really workedor very little of
it did.
But even today I meet lots of people who sooner or later get me into a conversa-
tion about UFOs, or astrology, or some form of mysticism, expanded consciousness,
new types of awareness, ESP, and so forth. And Ive concluded that its not a sci-
entific world.
Most people believe so many wonderful things that I decided to investigate
why they did. And what has been referred to as my curiosity for investigation has
landed me in a difficulty where I found so much junk that Im overwhelmed. First
I started out by investigating various ideas of mysticism and mystic experiences. I
went into isolation tanks and got many hours of hallucinations, so I know something
about that. Then I went to Esalen, which is a hotbed of this kind of thought (its a
wonderful place; you should go visit there). Then I became overwhelmed. I didnt
realize how MUCH there was.

..
.

I also looked into extrasensory perception, and PSI phenomena, and the latest
craze there was Uri Geller, a man who is supposed to be able to bend keys by
rubbing them with his finger. So I went to his hotel room, on his invitation, to see
a demonstration of both mind reading and bending keys. He didnt do any mind
reading that succeeded; nobody can read my mind, I guess. And my boy held a
key and Geller rubbed it, and nothing happened. Then he told us it works better
under water, and so you can picture all of us standing in the bathroom with the
water turned on and the key under it, and him rubbing the key with his finger.
Nothing happened. So I was unable to investigate that phenomenon.
7
The complete version can be found in the World-Wide-Web at
http://www.pd.infn.it/wwwcdf/science.html
 15

But then I began to think, what else is there that we believe? (And I thought
then about the witch doctors, and how easy it would have been to check on them
by noticing that nothing really worked.) So I found things that even more people
believe, such as that we have some knowledge of how to educate. There are big
schools of reading methods and mathematics methods, and so forth, but if you
notice, youll see the reading scores keep going downor hardly going upin spite of
the fact that we continually use these same people to improve the methods. Theres
a witch doctor remedy that doesnt work. It ought to be looked into; how do they
know that their method should work? Another example is how to treat criminals.
We obviously have made no progresslots of theory, but no progressin decreasing
the amount of crime by the method that we use to handle criminals.
Yet these things are said to be scientific. We study them. And I think ordinary
people with common sense ideas are intimidated by this pseudo-science. A teacher
who has some good idea of how to teach her children to read is forced by the school
system to do it some other wayor is even fooled by the school system into thinking
that her method is not necessarily a good one. Or a parent of bad boys, after
disciplining them in one way or another, feels guilty for the rest of her life because
she didnt do the right thing, according to the experts.
So we really ought to look into theories that dont work, and science that isnt
science.
I think the educational and psychological studies I mentioned are examples of
what I would like to call cargo cult science. In the South Seas there is a cargo
cult of people. During the war they saw airplanes with lots of good materials, and
they want the same thing to happen now. So theyve arranged to make things
like runways, to put fires along the sides of the runways, to make a wooden hut
for a man to sit in, with two wooden pieces on his head to headphones and bars
of bamboo sticking out like antennashes the controllerand they wait for the
airplanes to land. Theyre doing everything right. The form is perfect. It looks
exactly the way it looked before. But it doesnt work. No airplanes land. So I call
these things cargo cult science, because they follow all the apparent precepts and
forms of scientific investigation, but theyre missing something essential, because
the planes dont land.
Now it behooves me, of course, to tell you what theyre missing. But it would
be just about as difficult to explain to the South Sea islanders how they have to
arrange things so that they get some wealth in their system. It is not something
simple like telling them how to improve the shapes of the earphones. But there
is one feature I notice that is generally missing in cargo cult science. That is the
idea that we all hope you have learned in studying science in schoolwe never say
explicitly what this is, but just hope that you catch on by all the examples of
scientific investigation. It is interesting, therefore, to bring it out now and speak
of it explicitly. Its a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought
that corresponds to a kind of utter honestya kind of leaning over backwards. For
example, if youre doing an experiment, you should report everything that you think
might make it invalidnot only what you think is right about it: other causes that
could possibly explain your results; and things you thought of that youve eliminated
16

by some other experiment, and how they workedto make sure the other fellow can
tell they have been eliminated.
Details that could throw doubt on your interpretation must be given, if you
know them. You must do the best you canif you know anything at all wrong, or
possibly wrongto explain it. If you make a theory, for example, and advertise it,
or put it out, then you must also put down all the facts that disagree with it, as
well as those that agree with it. There is also a more subtle problem. When you
have put a lot of ideas together to make an elaborate theory, you want to make
sure, when explaining what it fits, that those things it fits are not just the things
that gave you the idea for the theory; but that the finished theory makes something
else come out right, in addition.
In summary, the idea is to give all of the information to help others to judge
the value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgment in
one particular direction or another.
The easiest way to explain this idea is to contrast it, for example, with adver-
tising. Last night I heard that Wesson oil doesnt soak through food. Well, thats
true. Its not dishonest; but the thing Im talking about is not just a matter of not
being dishonest; its a matter of scientific integrity, which is another level. The fact
that should be added to that advertising statement is that no oils soak through
food, if operated at a certain temperature. If operated at another temperature,
they all willincluding Wesson oil. So its the implication which has been conveyed,
not the fact, which is true, and the difference is what we have to deal with.
Weve learned from experience that the truth will come out. Other experi-
menters will repeat your experiment and find out whether you were wrong or right.
Natures phenomena will agree or theyll disagree with your theory. And, although
you may gain some temporary fame and excitement, you will not gain a good rep-
utation as a scientist if you havent tried to be very careful in this kind of work.
And its this type of integrity, this kind of care not to fool yourself, that is missing
to a large extent in much of the research in alternative science.
I would like to add something thats not essential to the science, but something
I kind of believe, which is that you should not fool the layman when youre talking
as a scientist. Im talking about a specific, extra type of integrity that is not lying,
but bending over backwards to show how youre maybe wrong, that you ought to
have when acting as a scientist. And this is our responsibility as scientists, certainly
to other scientists, and I think to laymen.
For example, I was a little surprised when I was talking to a friend who was
going to go on the radio. He does work on cosmology and astronomy, and he
wondered how he would explain what the applications of his work were. Well,
I said, there arent any. He said, Yes, but then we wont get support for more
research of this kind. I think thats kind of dishonest. If youre representing
yourself as a scientist, then you should explain to the layman what youre doing
and if they dont support you under those circumstances, then thats their decision.
One example of the principle is this: If youve made up your mind to test a
theory, or you want to explain some idea, you should always decide to publish it
whichever way it comes out. If we only publish results of a certain kind, we can
 17

make the argument look good. We must publish BOTH kinds of results.
So I have just one wish for youthe good luck to be somewhere where you are
free to maintain the kind of integrity I have described, and where you do not feel
forced by a need to maintain your position in the organization, or financial support,
or so on, to lose your integrity. May you have that freedom.

1.3 Large numbers

These notes deal with space and time. The first thing we notice about the
universe around us is how big it is. In order to quantify things in cosmology
very large numbers are required and the endless writing of zeroes quickly
becomes tedious. Thus people invented what is called the scientific notation
which is a way of avoiding writing many zeroes. For example the quantity
one million can be written as 1, 000, 000 which is a one followed by six
zeroes, this is abbreviated as 106 (the little number above the zero is called
the exponent and denotes the number of zeroes after the one). In this way
we have

one million = 1, 000, 000 = 106

one billion = 1, 000, 000, 000 = 109
one trillion = 1, 000, 000, 000, 000 = 1012 , etc.
(1.1)

So much for large numbers. There is a similar short-hand for small

numbers, the only difference is that the exponent has a minus sign in front:

one tenth = 0.1 = 101

one thousandth = 0.001 = 103
one millionth = 0.000001 = 106 , etc.
(1.2)

In order to get several times the above quantities one multiplies by or-
dinary numbers, so, for example, 8 106 =eight millions, 4 1012 =four
trillionths, etc.
This notation is a vast improvement also on the one devised by the
Romans, and which was used up until the Renaissance. For example, our
galaxy, the Milky Way, has a diameter of about 105 light years (a light year
is the distance light travels in one year), in Roman numerals

105 = MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
18

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

The Andromeda galaxy is about 2 106 (two million) light years from our
galaxy, in Roman numerals writing this distance requires 40 lines.

Appendix: Examples of large numbers

Very small and very large numbers are not the sole property of cosmology,
there are many cases where such numbers appear. What is hard to do is
visualize the meaning of something like a million or a billion. Below I provide
several examples of large and small numbers.
In the table for temperatures the values are given in degrees Kelvin; a degree
Kelvin equals a degree Celsius, but zero degrees Kelvin corresponds to 273.16
degrees Celsius. In order to change to degrees Fahrenheit you need to do the
following operation:

Deg. Fahrenheit = 1.8 Deg. Kelvin 459.

Absolute zero, the temperature at which all systems reach their lowest energy level,
corresponds to zero degrees Kelvin, and 459 degrees Fahrenheit.
 19

Times (in seconds) Masses (in kilograms)

70 Lower limit to the allowed mass for a Sumo wrestler
8.6 104 Earth rotation time 1 000 Car
1.6 109 Time between Milky Way supernovae 10 000 Tyrannosaurus Rex
3 1013 Time for evolution of a species 1 1013 Typical comet mass
7.3 1015 Orbit time for sun around galaxy center 3 1014 Typical mountain mass
6 1016 Time for galaxy to cross a cluster 1.1 1016 Superterranean biomass of Earth (ocean organisms are included)
1.1 1017 Primeval slime to man time 5.3 1018 Total mass of Earths atmosphere
1.5 1017 Age of Earth and Sun 3 1019 Typical asteroid mass
1.5 1017 Uranium-238 half-life 1.4 1021 Total mass of Earths oceans
3 1017 Sun lifetime 7.3 1022 Mass of the Moon
3.8 1017 Rough age of the Milky Way 5.98 1024 Mass of the Earth
4 1017 Rough age of 47 Tucanae 1.9 1027 Mass of Jupiter
4.1 1017 Age of the universe 1.99 1030 Mass of the Sun
2.8 1030 Maximum mass for a white dwarf star
6.0 1030 Maximum mass for a neutron star
1.3 1044 Rough mass of the stars in the Coma galaxy cluster
Distances (in meters) 1.4 1049 Rough total mass in spiral galaxies
2 1052 Rough total mass of a critical density universe
1.8 Man
8 847 Height of Mount Everest
10 000
10 000
Neutron star radius
Typical comet radius
Temperatures (in deg. Kelvin)
12 000 Typical airliner cruising altitude
3.2 106 Length of the Great Wall of China 7 107 Laser cooling of cesium atoms
6.3 106 Radius of the Earth 2.17 Liquid 4 He superfluid transition temperature
7.1 107 Radius of Jupiter 2.726 Cosmic microwave background temperature today
273 Water freezing temperature
3.8 108 Distance to the Moon
311 Human surface temperature
7.0 108 Radius of the Sun 373 Water boiling temperature
1.5 1011 Earth/Sun mean distance 506 Paper burning temperature
5 1011 Radius of the supergiant star Betelgeuse 740 Typical surface temperature of Venus
5.9 1012 Pluto/Sun mean distance 1811 Melting temperature of iron
9.46 1015 1 light-year 5770 Solar effective temperature
4 1016 Nearest non-solar star to Earth 1.4 107 Center of the Sun
4.5 1016 Rough Crab Nebula radius 5 107 Typical gas temperature in a cluster of galaxies
1.5 1018 Typical globular cluster radius 3 1010 Center of a supernova.
5.2 1018 Distance to the supergiant Betelgeuse
6.6 1019 Distance to the Crab Nebula
1.2 1020 Milky Way characteristic thickness Monies (in 1994 US dollars)
2.4 1020 Distance from Sun to galactic center
3.9 1020 Milky Way disk radius
9 107 Development and construction cost of the Keck telescope
3 1022 Radius of the core of the Virgo cluster
1.5 108 Rough cost of a European Ariane rocket launch
7 1023 Distance to the center of the Virgo cluster
2.1 108 Total spending in the 1994 U.S. senate election campaigns
1.3 1027 Distance to the quasar PC 1247+3406
9 108 Total cost of the Magellan probe
1.1 109 Worldwide Visa and MasterCard fraud in 1993
1.8 109 Amount of food stamp fraud in the USA in 1993
Velocities (in meters per second) 3.8 109 Microsoft revenue in 1993
1 1010 Rough monetary losses associated with BCCI
1.3 1010 Lockheed revenue in 1993
1.0 109 Sea floor spreading rate 1.5 1010 Rough United Nations yearly budget
1.6 109 Average slip rate of the San Andreas fault 2.8 1010 Planned cost for the space station
2 108 Grass growth rate 2.6 1011 United States 1994 military spending
3 106 Typical glacial advance rate 2.6 1011 United States 1994 predicted deficit
1.3 Human walking speed 8 1011 United States 1994 entitlement spending
25 Car speed 1 1012 Rough total United States health care spending in 1994
100 Speed of an electric nervous pulse 1.3 1012 United States 1994 tax receipts
330 Sound speed in air 1.5 1012 United States 1994 federal government spending
600 Fighter jet speed
4.4 1012 United States 1994 national debt
2 380 Escape velocity from Moons surface
11 000 Escape velocity from the Earths surface 6.4 1012 United States 1994 gross domestic product
29 000 Earths motion around the Sun 1.4 1013 United States 1994 unfunded liabilities for entitlement programs
2.2 105 Velocity of the Sun around the Milky Way
3.1 105 Escape velocity from the Milky Way
6.2 105 Escape velocity from the Suns surface
5 106 Young (months old) supernova ejecta
2 108 Escape velocity from neutron star surface
3 108 Light in a vacuum