Extreme views: enthusiasts versus relativity doubters

As mentioned in my previous post, I did pick up a few discussion threads again – on email and on ResearchGate. It led to some more enthusiastic responses and more readings of some of my papers. More substantially, I updated my paper on electron-positron pair production with a discussion on SLAC’s famous 1997 E144 experiment, and my views on it (I do not think matter/antimatter comes out of photons – the experiment does not keep track of the incoming electrons, and what happens to them), and that was an important question which had lingered in my mind and on which I did not have much of an answer (my answer now is not ‘definite’ in any way, but I think it is logical and, therefore, I do not think of the experiment as invalidating the ‘realist’ interpretation of quantum physics that I have been pursuing.

However, the renewed engagement in RG discussions also attracted rather mindboggling interventions of a whole range of new ‘nay-sayers’ who – for some reason I do not understand – doubt relativity theory. I think one can doubt a lot in quantum physics (if you have read any of my papers, you will see I do doubt quite a few things), but not relativity. It pervades each and every equation we use, and those equations have proven to work. Frankly, it is discouraging to see such intelligent people saying such stupid things. I copy one exchange below to highlight the nature of these exchanges, which made me ‘switch off’ again: there are more important things in life than trying to make a blind man see something he just cannot.

I must admit I hate to hear from people who truly seem to doubt that SRT and/or GRT theory is valid that I ‘do not understand the basics’. Pretty incredible, really. It does make one leave the discussion at where it stands – which is at a pretty miserable state.