bombus

I don't believe they actually exist at all, apart from as concepts created by the human mind. I think all particle physics is the same as stating that within a block of marble there exists a face, and then carving out a face and saying 'see, I told you so'. This does not mean that their 'discovery' cannot be put to good use however, just that it will not really bring us any closer to 'the underlying truth' as I am beginning to think that there is no 'underlying truth' that exists without subjectivity.

Strictly 'Ecology' deals with the 'economy of nature' i.e. the energy transfers that occur in an ECOsystem (hence the Eco part in Ecology and Economy). However, it's usually used more broadly than this.

The issue with invasive non-natives depends on ones perspective of 'natural'. To some people genetic engineering is natural as it's done by humans who are a product of nature. However, most of us conservationists draw a distinction between factors induced by (modern) man and naturally occurring factors. So, if a species colonizes (say) another continent without the intervention of man, that's 'natural', but if it colonizes a continent because man has transferred it by mistake or deliberately it would be classed as 'non-natural'. the other issue is whether that species has a significant effect on native and naturalized species. For example, little owls were deliberately introduced to Great Britain, and have naturalized, but have no noticeable detrimental effect on other species, so are deemed OK. American Grey Squirrels, however, have wiped out the native Red Squirrel from much of Great Britain so if we could get rid of them we would. It is the effect they have on biodiversity that determines whether we consider them 'good or bad', not necessarily whether they are native or non-native (as many of our so-called native wild flowers were actually introduced to Britain by neolithic farmers, celts and Romans).

But are not gravity waves actually time waves? I.e. Gravity is just an effect of time differentials between slower and faster moving time?

As this is the field I work in , I can honestly say that I have never encountered this, ever.

What's the point of one neuron? Who would it talk to? It reminds me of the question regarding the sign at Baker Street Tube Station in London which says it was the very first tube station. Where did the trains go to?

Dekan asks a very important and fundamental question. I think Wildlife/Environmental Conservation is a 'religion', and in my opinion, actually all about the spirit and purpose of humanity and not ultimately to do with our own survival (although at this present time it is of course linked to our own survival).

Thanks. Would you agree that the search for 'Gravitons' is futile, as it would actually be a search for quanta of time?

Schrodinger's Hat - re: many worlds interpretation. My question is who or what chooses which universe YOU end up being in?

Particles might not exist at all. It's just that the phenomena we are examining sometimes behave as if they are particles. They can also behave as if they are waves. They are neither, of course. Scientific examination of reality is ultimately all analogy. If it wasn't we wouldn't be able to conceptualize it - and still can't sometimes!

Well I am quite familiar with GR, but I don't think it agrees with my hypothesis - at least not directly. Can you expand?

It's not strictly true (Iran and Turkey are prosperous for example) but there is some truth in what you suggest. This is mainly because the West hinders their progress by sponsoring corrupt dictatorships which essentially steal all the people's money and do the Wests bidding by selling the countries produce to the West for knock-down prices. Maybe the 'Arab Spring' will change this - but I doubt it. Also, Before the last Iraq war and before the West put sanctions on Iraq (circa 1988) that country had a higher standard of living than Belgium by some measures. Similarly Libya had a standard of living higher than Portugal or Greece before this current war. Imagine how rich Saudi Arabia would be if the oil wealth wasn't horded by a dictatorship and banked in the West? Also, there are many Christian countries that suffer the exact same problems, e.g. Kenya, South Africa (most people are very poor there) and many other African states, so Islam has nothing to do with it.

After reading that, I suggest people read the Jan 2011 UN Report on Human Rights in Libya: http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session9/US/A_HRC_WG.6_9_L.9_USA.pdf The report said that the Ghaddafi government protected "not only political rights, but also economic, educational, social and cultural rights," and praised it for the nation's treatment of religious minorities, and the "human rights training" received by security forces. No less than 46 delegations to the controversial Human Rights Council made positive comments, with rare criticism from, the United States and UK. It was to be approved at a vote in April but I suspect the war got in the way!

Is it conceivable that matter causes 'drag' in the flow of time which we perceive as mass? I have wondered this as: Photons are not subject to time as they have no mass so cause no 'drag' Gravity causes time to slow down Mass causes gravity Is matter/mass an effect of/on the passage of time?

Some have suggested that the path of every photon in the universe (and every particle for that matter) could be set for all time and it is only our movement through time that gives photons/particles the impression of 'moving' through space.

Mooeypooey, you are making insulting comments about me that are derogatory and false, and basically calling me a liar. Maybe you should ban yourself for rule infringement.

To add to that, I was hoping maybe someone who IS a geologist may be able to shed light on the geodesic data. That's what these forums are about isn't it? Sharing information? Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedI shall have to carry this discussion on another time. Have to go to bed now - it's midnight here! I'll try to source some evidence if I can find any.

Mooeypooey. I am not a geologist. How can I argue from my own research? Also - I seem to be failing to get through to you despite saying it over and over again I AM NOT PROPOSING THIS THEORY! I am not even saying I believe it. I just want to discuss its merits or otherwise! SHall I repeat that? I AM NOT PROPOSING THIS THEORY! I am not even saying I believe it. I just want to discuss its merits or otherwise!

I don't think he says that. I think he's saying that his theory better fits the data. Merged post follows: Consecutive posts mergedInsane Alien. OK. What if satellite geodesic data does show earth expansion (which according to Dr. Maxlow it does.) Our incredulity would not matter a jot! Nor would our lack of an idea about a mechanism. We'd have to come up with one sharpish!

Some 'strawmen' were revealed. Some issues (such as the Antartica situation) were left in the 'we just don't know category'. I have not insisted on anything? How do you know it's not been peer reviewed. The majority of stuff referred to on this forum is giiven with no proof of being peer reviewed. If that is what you require I'll do my best. No it wasn't actually. Who's ranting? I am quite sure Dr. Maxlow does too. He claims to have obtained a PhD in geology.

How do you know that? Or is this just your opinion?

I was just perusing old threads and noticed a comment that I had not replied to. That's all.

If you say so. It wasn't what I said though.

OK, well a number of issues seem to have been addressed - thank you. I don't think it's worth refering to that website any more as using a crank's website is not going to help. Instead, maybe you'd like to have a look at this website. http://www.jamesmaxlow.com/main/ It's Dr, James Maxlow's site. He is a professional geologist and a serious scientist. An extract to whet your appetite is shown below: The Plate Tectonic interpretation of global data, for instance, is based on the fundamental premise that the Earths radius has remained constant, or near constant, throughout history. As will be outlined in this paper, this contrasts with an Expansion Tectonic interpretation of the same global data which is based on the fundamental premise that the Earths radius has been steadily increasing throughout Earth history. It should be appreciated from this statement that all modern and historical global data used to substantiate both Plate Tectonic and Expansion Tectonic theories are, in fact, identical. The only reason why Plate Tectonic theory won acceptance 50 years ago was because debate on whether or not Earths radius does or does not change with time was largely hypothetical – since it couldn’t be convincingly verified or measured. Also: Space geodetics is modern technology that uses satellites and radio telescopes to routinely measure the dimensions of the Earth and plate motions of the continents to sub-centimetre accuracy. During the early 1990s, when enough ground stations were established to form a global network, the global excess in radius was found to be 18 mm/year – i.e. the measurements showed that the Earth was expanding by 18 mm/year.

Well, I have read a lot about other coups in South America. As soon as I heard about it I guessed the general situation, and it only took the most limited of research to find out that my instincts were correct. I could smell it a mile off.