The Manti Te'o of Physics

theodp writes "When it comes to tales of fake girlfriends, Manti Te'o can't hold a candle to theoretical particle physicist Paul Frampton. In November 2011, writes the NY Times' Maxine Swann in 'The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble,' Frampton met who he says he thought was Czech bikini model Denise Milani on Mate1.com. A Yahoo Messenger romance bloomed, at least in the 68-year-old Frampton's mind (Frampton's ex-wife was a self-described 'physics groupie'). But before starting their perfect life together, fake Denise asked Frampton for one little favor — would he be so kind as to bring her a bag that she had left in La Paz, Bolivia? Yep, bad idea. The UNC Louis D. Rubin, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy soon found himself in a Buenos Aries prison, charged with transporting two kilos of cocaine into Argentina. Currently serving a four years and eight months sentence under house arrest, Frampton reportedly continues to supervise his two current PhD students by phone, and still finds time to post to the Physics archive."

Comments

Hey this is GossipDot, so

[Press2ToContinue]

let the personal Indictments on evidence presented by media coverage begin .... now!

(You may write below. Judging morals and boob-based motivational jokes are encouraged.)

It doesn't really add up

[damn_registrars]

It's hard to believe that he could really be that oblivious to how the real world works. The messages he sent from Bolivia where he talks about the value of cocaine, and evading authorities, don't help his case, either.

Re:It doesn't really add up

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

What would be odd, though, about the 'it was deliberate' case is that(at least going by popular accounts and a rough survey of people who get caught) being a coke mule is kind of a shitty job. Lots of surplus value in the supply chain as a whole; but not a terribly compelling slice(especially given the legal, and in some methods lethal, hazards involved) of that actually goes to the peon doing the carrying.

I'd assume that squeaky-clean white Americans are rather more desirable mules than 'impecunious locals who don't have a convincing story for how they even bought a ticket', because they are less suspicious and more likely to bring the package to its destination, unless the sniffer dogs get them; but unless the premium paid is pretty good, it still seems like a strange career move, particularly for somebody sharp enough to hack it as a physicist.

It wouldn't be the first time that somebody did something moronic; but 'coke mule' is not high on the list of fantasy dream jobs...

Re:It doesn't really add up

[bitt3n]

It's hard to believe that he could really be that oblivious to how the real world works. The messages he sent from Bolivia where he talks about the value of cocaine, and evading authorities, don't help his case, either.

I'm struck by the astuteness of your observation. As a nubile lingerie-model, I've been looking for someone like you to help lift me up out of the downward spiral to which I've been doomed by my slightly unwholesome good looks and improbably bountiful bosom. I know it's beyond all reason to hope that some stranger on the internet might condescend to lift me from out of this maelstrom of sexually depraved antics and obscene luxury, but is there any chance that someone of your pronounced intellect and homespun charms might be able to love a poor thing like me? Bonus points if you have a peg leg and are too fat to fit in one of those backscatter machines.

Re:It doesn't really add up

[dywolf]

http://www.boobpedia.com/boobs/Denise_Milani

Man has good taste

Re:It doesn't really add up

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

It's hard to believe that he could really be that oblivious to how the real world works. The messages he sent from Bolivia where he talks about the value of cocaine, and evading authorities, don't help his case, either.

My impression of the story the author was telling is that the guy really was catfished, but he knew he was a drug mule. He just thought that muling was something he needed to do for the woman, to prove his love or to provide a comfortable life for her, something along those lines. He also thought that he was smarter than the cops and that if he got caught, he would be able to get off by pretending to have been fooled.

The guy probably never dealt with the legal system before, much less criminal legal system in a 3rd world country, and had the typical nerd belief that it was all just a system of rules, like theoretical physics or computer programming, and if he could just set up the 'equations' the right way the result would be the outcome he expected (I think the author hinted at that when she focused on his statements about how great it would be to have his theoretical predictions validated by a real experiment.)

Now, that is the story I think the author was telling, who knows how true that is to what really happened.

Re:It doesn't really add up

[ShanghaiBill]

Man has good taste

Perhaps it was just intellectual curiosity. As a physicist, he may have thought they could account for the Universe's missing mass.

 

Frampton came alive

[ShaunC]

Do you, you... Feel like I do?

Dude Doesn't Deserve to be Called a Physicist ...

[pollarda]

Clearly here is one guy who lacks the sense of curiosity that is supposed to be the hallmark of all physicists. What is in the bag? Is the cat in the bag alive or dead?

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AN OMG moment

[MouseTheLuckyDog]

I did not meet Frampton but In the 80's I knew several of his students. So that's 2 degrees.
All I can say is wow.
This guy not only was a professor, he was one of the guys inventing the thing that eventually became String Theory only at the time it was called Dual Resonance Models. He also wrote a book on QFT that was generally on everyone's suggested reading list. Virtual every high energy physicist has heard of him.

Re:Dude Doesn't Deserve to be Called a Physicist .

[Locke2005]

He knew damn well what was in the bag! After being warned by a friend that it probably had drugs sewn into the lining, he opened it up and (supposedly) decided it was empty. Then he filled it with his own clothes to make it look less suspicious. Kinda hard to miss 2Kg of coke, isn't it? This is a guy that was so delusional he actually thought if he smuggled coke for this Milani chick, that she was going to fall in love with him and marry him... despite the fact that he had never spoken to her in person.