SSM Plebiscite

[PaulP]

Yet there is an infinite amount of evidence for dark matter or dark energy compared to an angel, telepathy maybe even Sheldrake by your measures! :o

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There is no direct evidence for dark matter or energy.

If you have a model or theory that looks to explain things in terms of matter, gravity and energy, and you specifically go looking for these things because that's what the model tells you, don't you think you will eventually find them, or if you can't find them, then insist they exist ? If you're not looking for anything else, how can you find it ?

In 3D graphics, if you want to show a shadow of tree branches on a wall, you can use a 3D model of a tree with a light behind it, or if you don't have a 3D model handy, you can use what is known as a gel, or a light gel. This is simply a 2d cutout of a tree, placed in front of the camera, with solid and transparent elements as required. When you generate your image, the viewer has no way of knowing whether the shadow is generated by a 3D tree, a gel, a neat assemblage of disconnected twigs, or something else.

In viewing dark matter and energy, I have been told repeatedly that we are seeing the effects of these elements (the shadow) not the thing itself. How do we know that it's actually dark matter ? How do we know that there isn't a gel version of dark matter that causes the effects ? Why, after decades of frankly fruitless research, do we not look at some other theories ?