Posts by interested observer

Apparently, being relentlessly positive in the face of overwhelming negative evidence is called being open-minded. An interesting definition.

Parallel universes don’t only exist in science fiction novels. Some people among us actually live in them.

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I still take Rossi over Musk

Quite possibly the most jaw-droppingly otherworldly comment ever made here.

I’m still pondering Sam12’s statement that Rossi looks real with the EcatQX and, as hard as I try, I can’t think of a single thing that would lead anybody to draw such a conclusion.

Now all we need is a good word vinagrette.

The most specious part of Ascoli’s years of pleading his case is the notion that one maverick Navy employee being associated with Rossi implies that “a U.S. Deparment” is involved. I understand that Ascoli is not an American and may have rather strange ideas of how things work in this country. However, the fact is that the tens of thousands of people working at various government labs come in all stripes and predilections and there are plenty of flakes and crackpots pursuing all manner of things. None of it implies any sort of governmental approval or acceptance. It is, as they say, a free country. But accepting that obvious truth is beyond Ascoli’s reach because, as Anne Elk would say, he has a theory which is his and belongs to him.

Perhaps a bunch of us can chip in and buy Ascoli65 an Occam’s Razor.

@Ascoli: you are certainly correct that people will believe almost anything if it fattens their wallets. There was no passive construction implied by my comment. Your 20+ professors and experts were most assuredly deceived by someone. Why you find it hard to believe that "the philosopher" was the deceiver continues to puzzle me.

Eric: my comment about Josephson was not necessarily a criticism of his outlook on the world but rather an indication that his positive reaction to Rossi does not necessarily constitute any sort of validation of e-cat technology.

If you have followed Brian Josephson’s career since the 1970s, you would know that he has embraced a number of topics that fall well outside the bounds of accepted science such as homeopathy. The appeal to authority is a logical fallacy in any case but is especially specious in this instance.

The probability of being deceived goes up exponentially when it provides the outcome you are hoping for.

The flaw in Ascoli’s persistent theory that he has been adamantly espousing for years is that he completely ignores the possibility that people with advanced degrees, prestigious positions, or important connections are incapable of being fooled by a talented con man. That is a naive and foolish position to take.

If any company is paying people to post here, I pity their investors and their employees for that matter.

THH: what is especially interesting about the remaining Rossi supporters is that their arguments in favor of Rossi consist of either ascribing nefarious motivations to Rossi critics or alluding to private information they have that cannot be shared. Supporters have long since given up on providing any evidence that Rossi is legitimate or countering technical arguments against Rossi’s flimflam shows. That is a hopeless task and they seem to know it. Instead, we get the “I’ve got a secret” routine. Does anybody actually go for that at this point?

The notion that millions of people around the world have even the remotest awareness of Rossi’s little con game much less believed anything in particular about it is even more decoupled from reality than the delusions of his most ardent supporters. Ascoli is now an official member of the “what are 3-orders-of-magnitude among friends?” society.

THH, you have to understand that 7 years of incessant lies, subterfuge, and out-and-out fraud are no reason to doubt that Rossi is on the up-and-up. That is just dwelling on the past.

@THH: my years of Rossi-watching have convinced me that it is primarily an ego thing. Once someone has bought into the Rossi myth for whatever reason, it is very diffficult to let go of. They are convinced that they have gotten ahead of the pack with knowledge and insights that others are lacking. To then admit that they were foolish and gullible is very difficult to do. Nobody wants to say they were punked. Instead, they double down and continue to argue that they are ones who see the truth and go to extraordinary lengths to rationalize their beliefs and ascribe all sorts of nefarious purposes to anyone who points out the glaringly obvious absurdity of supporting Rossi. It is utterly fascinating to watch.

sam12: You do realize that if Rossi has anything like what you inexplicably believe him to have, he does not need you to relentlessly defend him on obscure websites. He will do just fine without your knight in shining armor efforts.

Given that Rossi has done nothing visible to the public of any consequence other than his usual online blithering since the Stockholm fiasco, it is bizarre that this thread continues to be so active. Of course, its content is little more than pissing contests between Rossi supporters and Rossi detractors. How any of it has anything to do with supporting or, for that matter, disparaging LENR is hard to understand.

@Ascoli: perhaps I am unorthodox in my viewpoint, but I would think that being successful in LENR research entails demonstrating the effect in a reproducible and unambiguous way. How much money you raise or how many sycophantic followers you have on obscure websites does not equal success in the field. Or if it does, then "the field" is similar to the fields of crystal power and Nigerian bank schemes.