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Australian High Court Hears Some Weird Science

Posted by timothy on from the mud-rocks-lead-cherries dept.

mosch writes "In an extraordinarily unusual case, the Australian High Court listened to TJ Rout's arguments that he can make light travel faster than c, due to the properties of division and multiplication by zero. The transcript makes for excellent reading. Next up, the Supreme Court hears the testimony of Time Cube."

6 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Let's all laugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Everyone laugh at the man who is obsessed with multiplying and dividing by zero. Everyone laugh at the poor man who obviously has a mental illness. The Australian justices no doubt wanted to laugh as well, but because they are stuffy old men they couldn't. Let's all laugh at them too.

    And while we're at it, let's all laugh at the prick who thinks the spectacle of a madman is funny.

    1. Re:Let's all laugh by Gord.ca · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I don't think it's that bad.

      First, he sounds more deluded than mentally ill. There is a difference. If he's ill that would contribute to the delusion, but I couldn't diagnose from the website.

      Also, if he is ill, so what? I remember a time when I thought of stopping telling insane jokes from respect for the mentally ill. Then I was diagnosed as one, and I've been telling more insanity jokes ever since. Sulking about it doesn't help anything. At least laughing marginally increases the happiness of the world. Getting him help would be the best, but I don't see a way to do that, do you?

      If all he's good for is to be laughed at, then we must laugh at him or reduce him to uselessness.

      --
      The opinons expressed are those of the voices in the author's head and are not necessarily those of the author.
    2. Re:Let's all laugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
      and then let's all laugh at the fact that this guy somehow managed to get his "case" heard by the highest court in australia. perhaps there is something wrong with the australian legal system.

      Or perhaps his ideas are correct and you're cruel to insinuate that he has a mental illness.

    3. Re:Let's all laugh by RealErmine · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Everyone laugh at the man who is obsessed with multiplying and dividing by zero. Everyone laugh at the poor man who obviously has a mental illness. The Australian justices no doubt wanted to laugh as well, but because they are stuffy old men they couldn't. Let's all laugh at them too.

      I felt that the justices did a good job of not laughing at this man who obviously has some severe issues dealing with the meaning of reality. The fact that they did not laugh and let Mr. Rout continue with his case shows that they were impartial in their dealing with a person who is mentally ill. The Justice's responses were concisely and consistently aimed to allow Mr. Rout to present his legal case, which he continually failed to do.

      While I read through the transcript, though in all it is humorous from a detatched point of view, I was mostly amazed at the depth of Mr. Rout's belief that all of scientific progress and 5000+ years of mathematics were wrong just because he could not seem to fathom the idea that the number zero could stand for nothing. It was possible that he was so afraid of the notion that nothing could be quantified that he could no longer function in reality.

      Obviously, from the dialogue, Mr. Rout is an educated man, but try to think of the effect that his educated speculations had on his mind. That's the point where things get scary.

      --
      Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!
  2. Nobody's laughing by fm6 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why is it so obvious that Rout is mentally ill? Lots of people have silly theories. I've seen "proofs" that Pi is a rational number, that humans are all descended from Martians, that the international monetary system is a conspiracy of Jews, freemasons, Catholics, and the British Royal family... Perfectly "normal" people believe this crap. Hell, more than one popular TV show celebrates it! And some well meaning fools waste a lot of time trying to debunk silly theories. Which is a lost cause -- this stuff comes from a need to believe, and need to feel important. Very basic human desires, and not symptoms of mental illness!

  3. Rout's website by isn't+my+name · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A Google search turned up Rout's web site which includes The White Feather Letter mentioned in the High Court transcript, as well as many other interesting items. Though, I could not find any conplete explanation of his theories.

    There was this interesting piece:

    25th Jan 1994: I have proven, the 1st law of thermodynamics being, Newton's Law of conservation of energy is wrong. Using the famous Hubble red shift of 1929, that revealed light from distant galaxies was stretched into the red on a light spectrum, proving the universe was expanding. Proof:

    What they all have failed to perceive in 65 yrs of brain blindness is that energy is contained in the wavelength of light and the expanding universe is stretching the wavelength, so straightening it, and in straightening it is causing energy to cease to exist. The expanding universe is converting energy into nothing. This confirms my statements in the past that NOTHING is of a higher and different state of energy.