Comments on: You Are Not Stupid

By: Maureen Banashak

Maureen Banashak — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 13:30:11 +0000

The origin of the universe is N-O-T currently known by ANY scientist.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 18:01:06 +0000

Im going into astrophysics this year and this is a problem ive always struggled with. I always doubt myself because I do struggle occasionally, and I feel that even if I can make it through my phd I won’t be able to accomplish anything ‘great’ because Im just not that smart. Thank you for this inspiring post. 🙂

By: MLai

MLai — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 03:02:49 +0000

Yeah… pardon my ethnocentrism outrunning my self-awareness of time zones. I tend to assume that I’m bringing the continental United States with me wherever I go…

By: Brian Koberlein

Brian Koberlein — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:46:02 +0000

Comments go into a moderation queue based upon comment history, which I have to then approve manually. Links are one of the flags (because spam). You posted the first comment at 1am my time, and then complained about its lack of appearance at 7…

By: MLai

MLai — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 11:29:37 +0000

Sigh. Why are comments like this one allowed to stay, and my honest question about Brian Whitworth’s paper deleted? I wasn’t trying to say Whitworth is right; I just wanted to know if Prof Koberlein had any thoughts on the subject, since he seems quite well-read not just on astrophysics.

“World as virtual reality” may seem like a crackpot proposal, but when I see serious guests invited by Neil dG Tyson discuss the very same subject, it doesn’t seem like a POV which one should just dismiss out of hand.

By: Jens Riggelsen

Jens Riggelsen — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 07:52:24 +0000

Are you saying you believe stars to be atmospheric phenomena?
This is easily tested by comparing the position of the stars from different places on Earth. If they were just in the atmosphere, you wouldn’t see the same stars at the same time in different places on Earth (say a 1000 km apart for instance).

If you are saying that astronomers do have the right distance for stars and the atmosphere is sort of a reverse filter that allows us to see the them, then how would that work? Light can’t travel through a vacuum? But something else is travelling through vacuum then turning into light in the atmosphere. Now you have to explain that as well :S And if that is the truth, why hasn’t it been discovered by others and announced? There’s no harm in it, is there?

I have been in air planes and seen stars, so how far up do you have to go before you can’t see them? Also, there are plenty of astronauts who have seen stars (here’s an interview with an astronaut: https://youtu.be/LaUCMzgidvs) , but I guess they could be lying?

By: Rossen Kolarov

Rossen Kolarov — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 07:13:10 +0000

Qoute: “The problem isn’t you, it’s the scientists. Scientists are arrogant. For example, when I criticized a particular science website for intentionally misleading readers, the most popular rebuttal was that I (as a scientist) was being elitist.”
Brian, the problem is that sometimes the scientists are REALLY arrogant. The history remembers some striking cases. For example Lavoisier who has denied the cosmic origin of meteorites – “The stones can’t fall form the sky, because on the sky there aren’t stones” (The translation is my and may be bad). Lavoisier is one of the greatest scientists but… In my language there is a saying: “I nay-mudriyat si e malko prost”. I searhed in the dictionary and found the English equivalent: “Even a wise man stumbles.” So that when we say: “This is a science.” or “This is a pseudoscience.” must be very careful.

By: Piyush Gupta

Piyush Gupta — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 03:30:09 +0000

Long time reader.

Just went through EU debate. Can’t believe it went from Feb to Aug.

Now I understand why you stopped replying to stupid comments recently 🙂

Thanks a lot professor for your unique way of simplifying Astrophysics mumbo jumbo 🙂

By: Tom K.

Tom K. — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 22:30:55 +0000

You are talking about mindset. When children are told they are good at something because they are “smart” they immediately stop working hard because if they later make mistakes jy will mean they are no longer “smart.” Also called the damning power of praise.

But if you tell a child, “Wow! You did good. You must have worked very hard to do that well,” you are praising their voluntary hard work and not an innate “gift” that makes the special.

Don’t praise gifts. Praise effort.

By: Benb

Benb — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 20:56:49 +0000

Lol I should’ve known when he(?) referred to the inside of Hubble as “guts”.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 20:26:53 +0000

“Neil Armstrong stated quite clearly that stars were not visible from the Lunar surface, or from cislunar space. His statements were never addressed by NASA.”

There’s nothing to address. It’s well know that the sunlight lunar surface washes out faint starlight. And if they couldn’t see stars in cislunar space they COULDN’T FREAKING NAVIGATE.

By: Tony Spilotro

Tony Spilotro — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 19:46:21 +0000

He’s being serious. Proving some people really are stupid.