Profoundly Simple
Subconsciously Known

by
Vernon Brown
June 20, 2008

My first clue came when I wrote a short piece suggesting that the fundamental cause of relativity phenomena might be that all matter was comprised of photons alone. I submitted the piece to scientific journals that claimed to publish ideas outside the scientific mainstream. I found no takers, but what surprised me was the anger the piece evoked from the reviewers. The most profound and telling rejection came from Nature with the admonishment that "such ideas were dangerous", to the scientific community.

I re-read, re-wrote, re-submitted, but always the same. The idea that the universe might be comprised of electromagnetic fields alone evoked anger from many scientists. How could that be? It was as if I were denouncing some great God.

All this was happening circa 1986, right after I retired from a 30 year scientific career with AT & T. I had plenty of time then to research so I revisited the musings of early scientists with a mind set to find clues about their thinking in regard to a solely electromagnetic universe.

What I found surprised me. Many others had thought of such a construct for the universe. I began to find suggestions such as Ziegler's where he points out to Einstein and Planck that such a construct could be the sole cause of Relativity Phenomena. I found that the idea that photons alone may comprise the universe has had a small following for many years. The earliest actual theory seems to have been by James Clerk Maxwell as refined by Hendrik Antoon Lorentz. Known as the Lorentz Aether Theory, it provided Relativity Phenomena in classic space-time.

It was a reach for science to accept Einstein.

However successful the theory of a four-dimensional world may be, it is difficult to ignore a voice inside us which whispers: At the back of your mind, you know that a fourth dimension is all nonsense." -ARTHUR STANLEY EDDINGTON

Einstein knew that the only reason science followed particle theory instead of relying solely on the field was simply prejudice. There was no reason why the field and not the particle might be the totality of things that exist.

It is shown, however, that the conviction to the effect that the field theory is unable to give, by its methods, a solution of these problems rests upon prejudice. -ALBERT EINSTEIN

Over the years now as I have pondered this reaction of anger from my peers when I propose an electromagnetic universe, a realization slowly emerges. I think I finally know what may be the cause of the anger. Might it be that subconsciously we feel that the philosophical flaws in particle theory is fatal. Might it be that subconsciously we see what a dumb idea is particle theory when overwhelming evidence points to the field.

We have long known of the Profound-Stupidity affliction. The more profoundly stupid an idea, the more strongly it is held its adherents. Might the danger of thinking about the photonic construct be that we might see reality. Maybe the danger is that we will see reality and realize our stupidity.