Galileo Was Wrong, The Church Was Right: First Annual Catholic Conference on Geocentrism

[giblets]

What makes you think I said that? Listen, I'm just saying that Americans are more prone than anybody else in the West to pull stupid stunts like this. I'm not sure why, but I suspect its because you have more crackpots and retards than any other country in the West.

Well religion is more popular in the US, and religion makes smart people think stupid things.

[Kuciwalker]

Well, technically the belief that the Earth is unmoving at the center of the universe is a non-falsifiable hypothesis if you're willing to abandon the translational and rotational symmetries of the laws of physics.

Doesn't GR already dispense with those for arbitrary spacetimes?

[KrazyHorse]

?

[Al B. Sure!]

I don't know anything. I guess because relativity means that relative positions matter maybe? But I don't think the laws of physics change though things like the passage of time changes. I don't know.

Maybe because spacetime is curved and that has an effect on those symmetries?

[Kuciwalker]

?

Aren't there spacetimes with something akin to a preferred reference frame?

It's not obvious to me what translation invariance means in a nonuniform spacetime. (I don't doubt that there is a definable meaning.)

[ricketyclik]

Well religion is more popular in the US, and religion makes smart people think stupid things.

It's a long and proud history, starting with the more quirky religious nuts in Europe seeking freedom to practice their nuttery. They would be proud now if they could see what their descendants can get away with

[Hauldren Collider]

What makes you think I said that? Listen, I'm just saying that Americans are more prone than anybody else in the West to pull stupid stunts like this. I'm not sure why, but I suspect its because you have more crackpots and retards than any other country in the West.

I suspect it's because we have 300 million people, which puts us in 3rd place for population.

More people = more crazies. But it also means more sane people.

And religion hasn't kept us from being the richest country on earth.

[Hauldren Collider]

It's a long and proud history, starting with the more quirky religious nuts in Europe seeking freedom to practice their nuttery. They would be proud now if they could see what their descendants can get away with

Hey, it beats being a prison colony.

[OzzyKP]

I suspect it's because we have 300 million people, which puts us in 3rd place for population.

More people = more crazies. But it also means more sane people.

And religion hasn't kept us from being the richest country on earth.

Americans just do better PR. Nuts in other countries don't get on TV as much.

[Hauldren Collider]

I think that's also because Americans like getting worked up over crazy people more.

[KrazyHorse]

Aren't there spacetimes with something akin to a preferred reference frame?

Not that I'm aware of.

It's not obvious to me what translation invariance means in a nonuniform spacetime. (I don't doubt that there is a definable meaning.)

Uh, I don't see what you think the problem is.

This sounds a bit like complaining that EM breaks invariance because of the existence of nonuniform charge density.

[Theben]

I would have dismissed this as an internet gag until I saw it's to be in Indiana.

[OzzyKP]

I think that's also because Americans like getting worked up over crazy people more.

Very good point. The obsession with the crazy Koran burning guy was just overboard.