How Gravity Could Also Be Thrown Into The Mix

Do such conspiracies really exist? Like its predecessor, the Large Hadron Collider, the Ultimate Machine did not quite reach its intended power, but it did succeed in achieving conditions that probably hadn’t been seen since a microsecond after the big bang. Al had woven his experimental findings into a theoretical framework of incredible complexity to come up with a new general model of everything. It was no big deal to weave electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces into a common structure, but Al was able to make a quantum leap and show how gravity could also be thrown into the mix. Precision data from the experiments he conducted seemed to back him up. But there were credible and persistent rumors that Al had been fudging his data, and they became too numerous to ignore. Given the sensitivity of the matter and the eminence of the subject, the World Federation of Scientists chose to investigate it very quietly. Peggy Mandian, herself a celebrated physicist, was the lead investigator. Al was open and cooperative. He shared his experimental logs, his findings, and the calculations he made and took her through every step of the logical ladder he had constructed. It all seemed to check out, except for one troubling matter. About 30 percent of his data did not fit into his model. Some of those data actually appeared to refute it.

No Matter How Stuck You Feel

Peggy asked him about it. What are you referring to? he asked, genuinely puzzled. She showed him the data. Oh, that! he exclaimed, his face clearing. I just threw those out. She was astounded at his open admission. Why would you do that? she gasped, unbelieving. He seemed puzzled by her question. Because those data aren’t relevant, he replied. She persisted, Why were they not relevant? Al grew testy. Because they’re not real, he snapped. You did make these observations, did you not? she pressed.

Someday Your Ship Will Sail

Yes, he admitted grudgingly. Then why aren’t they ‘real’? she inquired. He exploded in a paroxysm of rage. He had much to say about idiotic bureaucratic investigators who had no clue about how research was done and how scientific theories were built and validated. He held forth at length on her intellectual limitations and got in some snide remarks about how her gender handicapped her. Peggy gathered up her papers and left hurriedly. She presented her findings in person to the board of the World Federation of Scientists. I was taken aback at the intensity of his reaction, she told them. But that was not what really blew my mind. What completely floored me was what happened later. I spoke to all of his team members individually. They were all candid and helpful.

Why Remind Me?

They were all stars in their field. They all admitted that they had ignored the data I drew to their attention. And none of them saw anything wrong in doing so. It seemed they genuinely could not comprehend my concern, and many grew angry when I persistently questioned them. The board went into a conclave that lasted several hours. Then Peggy was summoned again. We have studied your report carefully, the chairman began. Very carefully indeed. Newton is a careful experimenter and the leading theorist of our time. None have come close to his lofty status. The theory he has proposed is paradigm busting. No one has ever propounded such a groundbreaking hypothesis and simultaneously backed it up with experimental data. What seems to be your concern? Peggy was flabbergasted. He took no account of them at all. Of course he ignored them, the chairman agreed. It was the right thing to do. They weren’t real. I protest, Peggy began, but the chairman cut her off. His voice was gentle, but there was steel underneath it all the same. I have directed your report to be withdrawn and sealed. I would recommend that you take a long vacation and then resume your research. Or is everyone else? What was your reaction to the tale of a scientist who ignored a good chunk of his data and used only what fit his design? Should Peggy have persisted? What would you have done? What if I were to suggest that you too are guilty of the same high crimes and misdemeanors? That you also ignore information that does not fit your model? That everyone around you does the same, and you all encourage each other in this collective, willful blindness? Let’s begin with how you describe yourself. Here is an account by John, a participant in one of my workshops. Hi, I’m John, and I’m a software engineer. To tell the truth, Amy and I don’t get along all that well nowadays, and there are times when I dream of pulling the plug. If it weren’t for the kids, I’d have walked out long ago. Amy is a swell woman, but she nags too much and won’t leave me alone. She’s always after me to do something or other and make more money. That seems to be a bee in her bonnet. She keeps talking about the neurosurgeon who wanted to marry her. Still, it could have been a lot worse. I do like her, kind of, and she kind of likes me. Not like some of the couples in our bridge club, who battle viciously all the time. I wonder how my folks would react if they knew what I was thinking. John is convinced that he has accurately described his life. That what he has put down is the reality. You would probably describe your life in a similar fashion and are equally convinced about its reality. Every day, for countless hours, John is not a programmer working for a tottering company while deciding what to do about a faltering marriage. Instead, he is an emperor who battles hordes and emerges victorious, a top tennis player who effortlessly vanquishes opponents on the way to a grand slam trophy, or a hapless victim being chased down a dark alley by a sadistic killer.