Bread on the water 1

Random Thoughts

For after all what is man in nature? A nothing in relation to infinity, all in relation to nothing, a central point between nothing and all and infinitely far from understanding either. (Pascal)

This set of essays will be more personal and argumentative. Bear with me, - or skip.

I am, I hope, not eristic. The purpose of a discussion is not to win an argument but to seek a valid solution to a problem.

So far, with the possible exception of the deSitter essay, (Pedestrian Physics 8), I have not found arguments that settle the Ritz/Einstein controversy. Even the vorpal model can co-exist with Einstein's "Second Postulate". I prefer Ritz, because of its sanity and simplicity. If Occam's Razor is a scientific tool, then Ritz gets a clean shave while Einstein will leave the barber shop cut up and bloodied.

Comparing the vorpal model to the exploding universe leaves no room for agnosticism. It will be one or the other (or neither). The vorpal model has many loose ends but until another contender emerges it deserves to be judged on its merits. Sometimes loose ends can be tied up.

A discussion must focus on the underlying premises, inferences, assumptions and extrapolations. For the vorpal model, they were laid out in the series of Pedestrian Physics. I shall let others hammer them. I shall deal with my misgivings about the exploding model.