Hannibal wrote:R00k wrote:
I'm going to continue reading this, but it is completely obvious from the first paragraph that the paper is framed in such a way that any question of causes that are outside the scope of the official explanation are dismissed before the research has even started.
In other words, this paper in no way invalidates any theories (and they are just theories) of explosives or any other outside elements being introduced to the system -- because the paper states outright from the opening statement that no such possibilities will be considered.
This engineer essentially states that "The very fact that the buildings survived the crash of the planes into the buildings," suggests that nothing could be responsible for the collapse except "a time dependent behavior at the material level."
Where is this logical leap proven?
I haven't finished reading this either, but as a preliminary...is there any positive evidence that demolition charges were involved? That the official story (which I assume you believe the MIT profs take as basic) appears problematic or incomplete doesn't, by itself, constitute strong evidence for an alternative explanation.
For the record, my reply was in response to Puff's post, where he presented this paper as a rebuttal to the possibility of explosive charges. I was simply stating that this can not be construed in any way as proof that charges were not used, for the simple reason that this charge was excluded from the scope of the paper.
However, I would like to address a couple of your points.
Hannibal wrote:It is not surprising that an engineering prof wouldn't consider an alternative explanation if a) the official story is reasonable (given a certain sophisticated understanding of engineering, etc.) and b) no positive evidence for the alternative explanation exists (or of it does it is highly contentious).
For your first qualifier, I believe "reasonable" is a very vague word to use here. In the broad sense in which it's used, it would be hard to rule out any theories, including demolition. But I recognize your point, and it is any scientist's right (and profession) to formulate and analyze his own theories, and test them against the known/proven elements and behaviors in the system being analyzed.
But I think that it is important to note, that there is absolutely no basis in scientific history or texts to document the behaviors described by the official explanation of events. In other words, in terms of science and history, the official explanation of events is - by any measure - just as practically dubious as its alternative.
In practical terms, the only difference between the widely-accepted version of events and the theory of demolition, is that the former was presented by the US government in power when the attacks occurred. And these are the same people who had evidence destroyed, initially refused to allow an investigation, and then appointed the people who created the official explanation.
Also, the ostensible goal of this paper was to explain the circumstances and events that would have been required for the towers to collapse the way they did. The only reason this is even necessary, is because the explanation itself stands at odds with all accepted material properties and behaviors. So it would stand to reason that any serious attempt to explain the events would include any competing theories that also explain the events, and disprove them.
But as I said, this scientist has the right - possibly even an obligation to science, in his own estimate - to put forth, explain and support his theory. This would then be followed by peer reviews and critiques of his work. The problem with this is that this issue is politicized to the point that no critiques of the official explanation can be taken seriously. The peer review process is not working as it should, because any scientist or other member of academia who publishes such a critique, is nationally vilified, sometimes to the point of risking their reputations and/or careers.
If academia cannot openly and freely debate this issue, without fear of professional reprisal for their opinions, then there is no way I would be able to have faith in the results of the process, the way I normally would. (I know faith is a 4-letter word, but let's face it, with my - and many others' - limited knowledge of scientific fields, faith in the scientific process, and community, is required in order to accept the majority of scientific theories that are widely accepted).
For your second qualifier ["no positive evidence for the alternative explanation exists (or of it does it is highly contentious)"].
As I said, the 'alternative' and 'official' explanations have equal footing in terms of evidence: planes hit two towers, 3 towers fell. The only other evidence has been confiscated or destroyed by the government, which is the same organization that presented the official theory. Now, I realize that this is highly contentious, and the scientific community isn't in a position to make judgement calls on the motives of other people.
But it seems to me that the scientific process itself is under attack in regards to this particular discussion; and for scientists to use the official explanation as a starting point; and to require any other theories to have 'supporting evidence' even though the official theory has no such evidence itself, seems like quite a biased stance in my estimate, and an unsupportable one.
To be perfectly honest, I can't help but wonder if the scientific community at large - not as a conerted effort, but as a collective result of massive governmental attacks on scientific relevance in almost every arena - has decided to choose their battles, and do not want to be minimalized further by supporting a contentious theory on such a dangerous, hot-button topic.
For instance, I guarantee no scientist who is participating the ID vs Evolution debate will touch the 9/11 debate with a 10-foot pole, for fear of being completely marginalized and ridiculed to the point of having no voice at all. This goes the same for scientists in any field who are trying to support contentious theories and would rather not touch the 9/11 lightning rod.
I would very much like to draw a parallel to the current irrelevance of the media and the Democratic party, due to their own actions and inactions, and willingness to participate in debates on the terms of their opponents.
Hannibal wrote:If it ultimately boils down to a Battle of Engineers, this whole debate will go nowhere in the public sphere--that is, unless positive evidence of demolition shenanigans CAN be found.
And that is unfortunate. For lack of open, objective debate, the community will come to accept one scientifically unsupported theory over another.