Disinvited to a physics conference for belief in paranormal

[jingofever]

Link:

An extraordinary spat has broken out after a Nobel prizewinning physicist was "uninvited" from a forthcoming conference because of his interest in the paranormal.

Details of the conference in August for experts in quantum mechanics sounded idyllic. Participants were due to discuss "de Broglie-Bohm theory and beyond" in the Towler Institute, which is housed in a 16th-century monastery in the Tuscan Alps owned by Mike Towler, Royal Society research fellow at Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory.

Last week, any veneer of serenity was shattered. Conference organiser Antony Valentini, research associate in the Theoretical Physics Group at Imperial College London, wrote to three participants to say their invitations had been withdrawn.

The physicist and science writer David Peat, biographer of David Bohm (co-founder of de Broglie-Bohm theory), was considered tainted because of his books on "Jungian synchronicity" and "connections between Native American thought and modern physics".

Brian Josephson, head of the Mind-Matter Unification Project at Cambridge, was rejected on the grounds that "one of his principal research interests is the paranormal".

Professor Josephson, who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on superconductivity, has long been one of the discipline's more colourful figures.

In 2001, he attracted derision from some of his peers when he discussed telepathy in his contribution to a booklet issued to celebrate the centenary of the Nobel prizes.

Recent developments in quantum theory, theories of information and computation "may lead to an explanation of processes still not understood within conventional science such as telepathy, an area where Britain is at the forefront of research", he wrote.

Speaking this week, Professor Josephson said: "I was keen to attend the conference and would have concentrated on the theoretical ideas and touched on the paranormal as only one aspect. I thought it would be an interesting opportunity for cross-fertilisation."

News of the exclusions led to what Dr Towler described as a "great email storm".

Even spoon-bending psychic Uri Geller joined in, and on 24 April Dr Towler "renewed the invitation" to Dr Peat and Professor Josephson but not to the third rejected participant, American theoretical physicist Jack Sarfatti. Dr Towler claimed Dr Sarfatti had "written something like 100 emails" since his invitation was withdrawn, "many ... suggesting that we are in the pay of the CIA".

Dr Peat agreed to participate while Professor Josephson was considering his position.

That's only going to make Jack madder. Josephson and Sarfatti make comments under the article. Sarfatti also comments here and might comment here if he finds out about it.

[elfismiles]

Despicable

[Wombaticus Rex]

^^What in the fuclk is your new avatar pic, man? What kind of lizard brain trip is she ON? What's the story there?

[justdrew]

back middle-of-feb I mentioned of this conference:
http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/view ... 13#p319713

I was surprised to see Sarfatti on the invitee list. I guess some organizers were too.

'or shit, maybe some organizers were doing some googling and found mention of their conference here and freaked out? Maybe I screwed the invite for Sarffati just by linking it to here? Sorry if so Jack.

[justdrew]

^^What in the fuclk is your new avatar pic, man? What kind of lizard brain trip is she ON? What's the story there?

that's a crop from a recent pic of teapartiers doin' their thing. it's even weirder un-cropped. may be in images only thread

[Wombaticus Rex]

Reminds me of HST's frequent use of the adjective known as "Atavistic"

She is Living the Dream....but you know what the funniest part was, man? Just based off that single frame, I knew what it was. I should have just stuck with the gut.

[elfismiles]

^^What in the fuclk is your new avatar pic, man? What kind of lizard brain trip is she ON? What's the story there?

that's a crop from a recent pic of teapartiers doin' their thing. it's even weirder un-cropped. may be in images only thread

Yes, that is from the images only thread. The moment I saw the full-sized pic I knew I had to crop it and use as a temporary avatar. Reptoid-brain indeed. I think my previous temp avatar was also from the images-only thread: mr peanut goes to war.

[Simulist]

Disinvited to a physics conference for belief in paranormal

If, as some suspect, we are actually living inside some sort of an illusion or elaborate simulation, the effectiveness — even the effective continuance — of that simulation would depend on its population being kept largely unaware of its true nature.

Physics could pose a potential threat to the "integrity" of such a deception — especially if it got its curious hands on the quantum "mechanism" behind the simulation, and that information were not carefully managed. Physic-ists — those who are also free-thinkers and who remain unimpressed by the dogmatic boundaries placed on them — would then pose an even greater actual threat to the overall deception.

Anyone "behind the curtain" probably wouldn't care to offer such "dangerous people" better microphones and even louder amplifiers than the ones they already possess — in fact, there might even be efforts made to discredit them (and their "disreputable ideas").

Just a thought...

[Perelandra]

^^What in the fuclk is your new avatar pic, man? What kind of lizard brain trip is she ON? What's the story there?

that's a crop from a recent pic of teapartiers doin' their thing. it's even weirder un-cropped. may be in images only thread

Yes, that is from the images only thread. The moment I saw the full-sized pic I knew I had to crop it and use as a temporary avatar. Reptoid-brain indeed. I think my previous temp avatar was also from the images-only thread: mr peanut goes to war.

I really liked the one before that, the sainted alien. This one makes me nervous when I see it. Sorry, carry on.

[Hugh Manatee Wins]

Dr Towler claimed Dr Sarfatti had "written something like 100 emails" since his invitation was withdrawn, "many ... suggesting that we are in the pay of the CIA".

GOOD CALL from those emailers.

The CIA promotes a misdirection blend of quantum-physics-as-woo and New Age sewage designed to push environmentalist Lefties into a swamp of pseudo-science and superstition.

See Institute of Noetic Science, Remote Viewing, Dean Radin, The Secret Life of Plants, The Hidden Messages in Water, etc.

[nathan28]

Dr Towler claimed Dr Sarfatti had "written something like 100 emails" since his invitation was withdrawn, "many ... suggesting that we are in the pay of the CIA".

GOOD CALL from those emailers.

The CIA promotes a misdirection blend of quantum-physics-as-woo and New Age sewage designed to push environmentalist Lefties into a swamp of pseudo-science and superstition.

See Institute of Noetic Science, Remote Viewing, Dean Radin, The Secret Life of Plants, The Hidden Messages in Water, etc.

Um, HMWs, you do realize that Sarfatti agent-baiting someone has a certain irony, don't you?

[justdrew]

Dr Towler claimed Dr Sarfatti had "written something like 100 emails" since his invitation was withdrawn, "many ... suggesting that we are in the pay of the CIA".

GOOD CALL from those emailers.

The CIA promotes a misdirection blend of quantum-physics-as-woo and New Age sewage designed to push environmentalist Lefties into a swamp of pseudo-science and superstition.

See Institute of Noetic Science, Remote Viewing, Dean Radin, The Secret Life of Plants, The Hidden Messages in Water, etc.

good instinct, but in this case you've got it a bit backwards

Towler's a Real Cambridge Physicist. Sarfatti is... Sarfatti; who I think has probably cashed more agency checks than most in the woo business. I shouldn't say that, he'll probably come round now and shout in all caps at me and threaten to sue. I thought he was an interesting guy ten+ years ago, but nothing's panned out... and he does hve his own peccadilloes.

but it seems odd and possibly doubtful that he'd be accusing Towler of taking orders from the CIA. being rude and throwing flames, yes that would make sense.

[Simulist]

Well said, Nathan and Drew.

[stefano]

Ha, typical. "De Broglie-Bohm theory and beyond"... but not that far beyond, please gents. At least Peat's going to go.

[17breezes]

Dr Towler claimed Dr Sarfatti had "written something like 100 emails" since his invitation was withdrawn, "many ... suggesting that we are in the pay of the CIA".

GOOD CALL from those emailers.

The CIA promotes a misdirection blend of quantum-physics-as-woo and New Age sewage designed to push environmentalist Lefties into a swamp of pseudo-science and superstition.

See Institute of Noetic Science, Remote Viewing, Dean Radin, The Secret Life of Plants, The Hidden Messages in Water, etc.

I imagine they also promote crazy truther stuff like controlled demolition, etc. It sure keeps the plebes so busy fighting chimeras that the entire "truth," aspect gets buried under the ponyshit.