Dear Jeffrey Nicholls,
I am not a physicist. I do have a record here at FQXi.org due to my participation in all of their essay contests. I never do well. My first contribution was "The Absoluteness of Time", a soft introduction to expose a failure of theoretical physics that involves electric charge. More generally, my efforts are directed at exposing the failure of theoretical physics to support its teachings with direct empirical evidence. I rated your essay. You can disagree with what I say with no possible penalty.
I have to travel, and, may be unable to respond during this week. I find that there is a major problem with trusting theoretical physics to lead us toward an understanding the nature of the universe. The problem is due to the change of physics from being 'The rigorous science of measurements.' and yielding its authority to 'The speculative science of guesses'. Theoretical physics has left errors and omissions behind in the fundamentals of physics while teaching imaginative ideas that lack direct empirical support.
I think that you make a mistake that other sciences also make. You are attempting to connect your findings to the 'foundational' science of physics. Theoretical physics is not foundational! If you decide to look into this further, I suggest that you perhaps read my essays from the 2008 and 2014 contests. Time is short for reading essays and rating them. I will not distract you any further. I sincerely wish you good luck in this contest.
James A Putnam
