Monday, July 25, 2011

"Facts, schmacts" -- R.C. Hoagland

        Early today Richard Hoagland gave us all a clue to his thinking, posting this on FB:

It's a serious problem with a LOT of folks (some of whom even post here ...) :)

They think that "facts" are of prime importance in solving problems. As you already know, Eintein[sic] believed -- with EXCELLENT reason --that "imagination" was Humanity's only REAL salvation--

As a spur to finding out NEW facts!

Without which, we are simply robots "going through the motions" .... :)

        Hoagland's invention of "science without facts" would be impressive if it had been productive. As it goes, though, in 39 years he's produced two books both of which are riddled with errors and false assumptions, one really dreadful web site (which has now lain fallow and unloved for more than a year,) and about ten conference presentations, similarly error-strewn.

20 comments:

Chris Lopes said...

If the point Hoagland were trying to make is that science sometimes requires the imagination to go beyond what is current known, he'd be partly right. New discoveries that break existing paradigms do need people willing to think outside the box to find them. If you are claiming to have made such a discovery though, you are required to actually prove it with facts. That's what science is, a mixture of imagination and skepticism.

In Hoagland's case, there is far too much of the former and none of the latter. You can see where he'd think of facts as having little more than nuisance value. His entire post-Apollo career has been built on the idea of imagination trumping reality. He can't spend more than a few minutes on his FB page without citing this movie or that book as "someone sending us a message".

It's sad too really, because there is a lot going on in science and space exploration that he could be talking about, if only he were willing to stick to the facts. Unfortunately he can't. Every notable event in the world MUST be placed in the context of the mythology he has created. No event, no matter how seemingly unrelated (the Oslo attacks for instance), can be allowed to escape this treatment. It's infantile and desperate, like he knows he has nothing.

As to his record of "achievement", yes it is pretty poor isn't it. Contrast it with Michio Kaku (my favorite Hoagland counter-point), who does real scientific research, teaches real students at a real university, does lots of media appearances (he's better at the self promotion thing than Hoagland ever will be), and still had time to write a half a dozen books. Hoagland can only dream of such things, which is why he's so bitter towards people who point out his errors.

Biological_Unit said...

Mike Bara showed up on the Ancient Astronauts program on the History Channel. His claims were so vague that they could never be refuted. He says certain locations like Stonehenge have "frequencies". What frequencies and how do they work? We'll never know because he doesn't care about anything except getting paid.

Chris Lopes said...

BU, At least Bara is somewhat honest about it. He's not trying very hard to hide the fact that what he does is about money. What really infuriates me about Hoagland is the sanctimonious attitude that he presents about what he does. Since he pretends to be in the fight to save humanity, anyone who goes against him is obviously helping the bad guys. It's a cheap rhetorical trick, done by a low rent used car salesman.

Biological_Unit said...

I think I should lurk moar

Chris Lopes said...

Didn't mean to harsh your mellow BU. Your input is always welcome.

Biological_Unit said...

There are a lot of unanswered physics questions out there!
Why do those storms rage on the Gas Giant planets? There is no solid surface to stop them, so they churn endlessly.
What is Mass? What is the mechanism for Gravity? There are possible free energy sources associated with those answers!

Biological_Unit said...

If I don't get answers for these questions, I'll go to Mike Bara. Consider this an Ultimatum!

Chris Lopes said...

BU, since I'm not well versed in physics and planetary science enough to answer your questions, here are a couple of web pages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/The_Storms_May_Tell_Why_Gas_Giant_Planets_Are_So_Windy_999.html

I hope those help, and I hope they keep you from going over to Bara's site. :)

Biological_Unit said...

Those are unconvincing links.

I think ALL of the recent discoveries were back-engineered from crashed UFO's. I wonder some times.

Chris Lopes said...

Well BU, you are entitled to your opinion. I'm just not expert enough to convince you otherwise.

Chris Lopes said...

Expat,
Just s you will know what kind of idiot we are talking about, here's a snippet of conversation from Hoagland's FB page.

Orion Mott
Richard, back in grade 7 science class it was noted that scientists cannot explain how a bumble bee flies. Basically it was impossible to lift their heavy bodies with such tiny wings. I was wondering if the buzzing vibration was a hyperdimensional element that allowed the bee to lift against gravity like the spinning ball?
4 hours ago

4 people like this.
Richard C. Hoagland Orion,

VERY perceptive!|

The extremely high-frequency ROTATING segments of the bees' wings would, literally, diminish their INERTIA ("gravity") ... in this model.

I've also been looking in the direction of Russian naturalist Viktor Grebennikov's "cavity effect," as complimentary work in this area ....

http://keelynet.com/greb/g?reb.htm
THE NATURAL PHENOMENA OF ANTIGRAVITATION AND INVISIBILITY IN INSECTS AND THE GREBENNIKOV CAVERNOUS S
keelynet.com
The Natural Phenomena of AntiGravitation and Invisibility in Insects due to the Grebennikov Cavity Structure Effect (CSE)


There you go, now even bees are "stunning confirmation" of his theories. :)

Biological_Unit said...

That information is freely available since 2002. The TEM forum of Super Shamans and Cloud Dancers. This is Word Salad with a little more refinement than Mars Revealer, who is batshit crazy indeed.

Chris Lopes said...

But BU, you'd figure the guy would have at least did a little research before opening his mouth on this one. You'd think a "NASA consultant" would be a little leery of a 100 year old myth. In the end, he really is his own worst enemy.

Biological_Unit said...

His website enterprisemission.com, is updated regularly with analytical research into current anomalies on our planet

He's been adding 0 research articles numerous times, one after another, on and on ...

expat said...

Yes, I noticed that. Hilarious.

Chris Lopes said...

BU, the point about the website is puzzling. I mean all he'd have to do to shut down that complaint (by a number of his followers) would be to post some of the dreck he's been feeding the FB page crowd for over a year. I'm not sure what the rationale behind all but abandoning the site could be, but whatever it is, it must be important enough for Hoagland to risk some of his fan base for.

Biological_Unit said...

Check out this insanity:

http://hhmsssword.blogspot.com/2011/07/status-hell-with-you.html

Idiot swArd, he hates Hoagie but he's Batshit. My favorite line:

The ADL will handle all of the times he has referenced us as fascists - and there will be a retraction - a loud one.

The ADL doesn't go around fighting for everyone on the internet who gets called a fascist, anyways this would just PROVE he's another INSIDER. What the hell am I talking about? He's Nuts and that's all!!

Chris Lopes said...

BU,
Yes this guy is nuts. While Hoagland does present a very paranoid world view, that's just part of his con. This guy actually believes his stuff.

In a way, it's good that people like him have a harmless outlet for their demons. It gives them a sense of power and accomplishment. It doesn't make them any saner of course, but it keeps them from walking down the street while carrying on imaginary conversations. :)

Biological_Unit said...

This guy actually believes his stuff

Those are some heavy hallucinations on his part!

Biological_Unit said...

Sword has given his name as Captain O'Toole.

Captain OF TOOLS

Cannibal Troll Alert! It's a ruse!