Saudi Cleric "reveals" that the Sun rotates around the Earth

Discussion in 'World Events' started by Kittamaru, Feb 20, 2015.

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  1. Kittamaru

    Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/201...html?ir=Weird News&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000022

    Uhm... wha...? I'm not familiar with the Huffington Post "Weird News" section... is it supposed to be satire or... well, is this really something that people believe?
     
    Kittamaru, Feb 20, 2015
    #1

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  3. Repo Man

    Repo Man Valued Senior Member

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    Repo Man, Feb 20, 2015
    #2

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  5. Daecon

    Daecon Kiwi fruit Valued Senior Member

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    With a name like that, I dread to think how many IQ points clicking on that link is going to cost me...
     
    Daecon, Feb 20, 2015
    #3

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  7. Kittamaru

    Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    I know I forgot about this thread for a while... but let me re-iterate...

    Damn... that's scary...

    I guess people will believe anything 0o'
     
    Kittamaru, Mar 6, 2015
    #4
  8. spidergoat

    spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Finally, someone has the sense to sort this out. Science is now complete.
     
    spidergoat, Mar 6, 2015
    #5
  9. Yazata

    Yazata Valued Senior Member

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    If you adopt the Earth as your reference-frame, then the Sun does seem to orbit around the Earth.
     
    Yazata, Mar 6, 2015
    #6
  10. billvon

    billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Let's hope he never rides a merry-go-round!
     
    billvon, Mar 6, 2015
    #7
    chaf likes this.
  11. GeoffP

    GeoffP Caput gerat lupinum Valued Senior Member

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    Someone finally had the guts to document "intelligent space", I see. Good for him.
     
    GeoffP, Mar 6, 2015
    #8
  12. Bells

    Bells Staff Member

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    THE WORLD IS SPINNING!!1!!!
     
    Bells, Mar 7, 2015
    #9
  13. cosmictraveler

    cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    cosmictraveler, Mar 7, 2015
    #10
  14. Russ_Watters

    Russ_Watters Not a Trump supporter... Valued Senior Member

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    Huffington Post is kinda like The Onion lite. It doesn't have a satire/weird news section, it just Is.
     
    Russ_Watters, Mar 7, 2015
    #11
  15. Bells

    Bells Staff Member

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    Hmmm...

    A quarter of Americans surveyed could not correctly answer that the Earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around, according to a report out Friday from the National Science Foundation.

    The survey of 2,200 people in the United States was conducted by the NSF in 2012 and released on Friday at an annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago.

    To the question "Does the Earth go around the Sun, or does the Sun go around the Earth," 26 percent of those surveyed answered incorrectly    .​


    There are stupid and/or dumbarse people everywhere. For example, meet Dr. Gerald Aardsma, Ph.D. A physicist who views heliocentricity as being something that is taught in schools and thus progressive and not really proven.
     
    Bells, Mar 7, 2015
    #12
  16. Kittamaru

    Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    ... *sigh* I give up on the human race as a whole at this point... I think it's beyond saving without a mass cull...
     
    Kittamaru, Mar 7, 2015
    #13
  17. Bells

    Bells Staff Member

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    The sad thing is that these people, like Sheikh Bandar al-Khaibari, are in positions of influence or use their influence to perverse science.

    This guy said this in a lecture, to students. We can hope that the students did not take him at his word, but the fact remains that these individuals are allowed to open their mouths and express such opinions in public and in an educational capacity.

    But this is what really gets me about this story. Sheikh Bandar al-Khaibari and people like Gerald Aardsma are in authoritative positions which allow them to teach this to students.

    I look at someone like Aardsma and I ask myself how in the hell can someone with his education and his background, actually believe that there is no real proof that the earth revolves around the sun.. How strong was his indoctrination that he still actually believes this crap.

    Dr. Gerald E. Aardsma (shown at right in Israel in June 2000) obtained B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in physics from the University of Guelph in 1978 and 1979 respectively, and a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of Toronto in 1984. During his Ph.D. studies, and subsequently as an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Aardsma worked in the newly founded field of accelerator mass spectrometry, a field which is now widely employed for radiocarbon and other rare-isotope dating methods.

    Physical dating methods such as radiocarbon play an important role in the construction of historical chronologies. Dr. Aardsma's background in physics, and his specialization in radioisotopic dating methods provide him with the tools needed to critically evaluate secular dates and their relationship to biblical chronology.

    Dr. Aardsma is not only a physicist and a chronologist, he is also a conservative Christian. His research reflects a high view of both the scientific and the biblical data bearing on any question    .​


    A Ph.D. in nuclear physics and he comes out with this sort of absolute rubbish. And he continues to teach. From a position of authority, with a scientific background. And that is the scary part.
     
    Bells, Mar 7, 2015
    #14
  18. Kittamaru

    Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    Indeed... it's terrifying that people who SHOULD know better decide to spread... well, simply put, garbage...
     
    Kittamaru, Mar 7, 2015
    #15
  19. arfa brane

    arfa brane call me arf Valued Senior Member

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    I have a question for the good professor: if the earth is stationary, what is it stationary in respect of? If the earth is not rotating about an axis and not orbiting the sun, what is Mercury doing, or Venus or Mars? How does he explain their apparent motion; what about comets?

    Does the professor realise his stationary earth theory needs a lot more to explain planetary motion. And finally, does he believe there is a galaxy, and does the sun orbit a galactic centre? If so, what does the "stationary" earth do in respect of a galactic centre?

    Has he heard of Kepler or Copernicus? How about Galileo or Newton?
     
    arfa brane, Mar 7, 2015
    #16
  20. wellwisher

    wellwisher Banned Banned

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    Physics does not believe there is a center of the universe. This is can be hard to visualized. They believe space-time is expanding at all points at the same time. This science model of the universe makes all references relative. If we choose to have the earth move around the sun, this is only done for our convenience. But since there is no center of the universe and all references are assumed to be relative, the earth can also be chosen as a reference center. However, this choice makes it more complicated to explain the motion of planets. I believe that simplicity is closer to perfection. Also because I am lazy, I would use the sun to make it easier of me.

    In terms of symbolism, the sun is symbolic of God, since it brings light and life to the earth. The earth does not bring life to the sun. The earth is the ego. The earth center places man ahead of God; symbolically. The professor is demonstrating emotional thinking and how it can be blended with logic.
     
    wellwisher, Mar 8, 2015
    #17
  21. iceaura

    iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    He does not stipulate that the Earth is stationary - he instead argues that 1) nothing in the Bible asserts a stationary Earth, and 2) the General Theory of Relativity asserts that the concept of a stationary Earth can only be a temporary expedient, of no absolute significance or meaning.

    His argument is formally sound, in a sense - one can in fact declare the Earth, or for that matter any place handy, to be some kind of center around which the Sun moves in some fashion. You can make the math and physics work. I think it should be done only by teachers capable of providing their students with the appropriate physical concepts and mathematical calculations.

    That will make it suitably rare.
     
    iceaura, Mar 10, 2015
    #18
  22. CptBork

    CptBork Valued Senior Member

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    6,465
    Really? I think it's not terrifying at all, in fact we should buy even more oil from them, bow down lower to their leaders, and sell them more weapons to shoot protestors and equip Jihadi terrorists. After all, they're staunch, trusted allies in the struggle for secular democracy against global terror. If you think this minor example shows the pseudoscientific barbarism prevailing over that wasteland, you've merely discovered the first oasis in a whole desert full of crazy.
     
    CptBork, Mar 10, 2015
    #19
  23. chaf

    chaf Registered Member

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    15
    I would honestly like him to give this theories on those 10 final questions.
     
    chaf, Mar 10, 2015
    #20
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