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Old January 20th 10, 03:36 AM posted to sci.physics.research,sci.astro.research
Phillip Helbig---undress to reply
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Posts: 629
Default "Higgs In Space" or Where's Waldo?

In article
,
"Robert L. Oldershaw" writes:

So are you saying that the detection of gravitational waves is a
foregone conclusion?

Is a non-detection due to non-existence of gravitational waves not
considered a permissible observational outcome?

If gravitational waves are not observed, like the non-detection of
"free quarks", will theoreticians decide that they must exist, but are
confined to imaginary dimensions? Or perhaps that they were absorbed
by all the magnetic monopoles and, poof!, they annihilated each other
and their non-existence will be cited as proof of their previous
reality.


It's possible to be healthily sceptical, and it's possible exaggeratedly
position oneself as to be always contrary to prevailing wisdom.

If we knew the outcome of the experiment in advance, then we wouldn't do
the experiment.

Gravitational waves are based in GR, and we have no reason to doubt GR
in this regime. I'm willing to bet all I own that gravitational waves
will be detected; are you willing to bet all that you own that they
won't?

But seriously, we again see the pre-determination of how the
experiments are "supposed" to come out. We should say: IF AND WHEN the
detectors start producing reliable observations/non-observations... .


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