[meteorite-list] Fake Norway Rock

From: JoshuaTreeMuseum <dorifry_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 11:08:46 -0400 (EDT)
Message-ID: <634358992.21219905.1397228926887.JavaMail.root_at_embarqmail.com>

Mark,

LOL! I still love dowsing even if it is caused by unconscious ideomotor responses. The pseudosciences are a lot of fun. And yes, you're right, name calling is not right. I apologize for that.

As we all very well know, the burden of proof is the responsibility of those making the outrageous claim. In this case, ridiculously outrageous. They have absolutely no proof whatsoever of any kind that this is a meteoroid. Just a video of a rock popping out of a deploying parachute. As experienced skydivers, they have to know this is a fairly common occurrence. I've heard on skydiving forums this is more common than you'd think, especially when you do the preliminary packing on the ground outside. The most commonly picked up foreign objects seems to be rocks. A few skydivers claim to have seen videos just like this one.

This is starting to look more and more like an elaborate advertising campaign. One of the first "experts" consulted was Morten Bilet, a meteorite dealer with obvious vested interests. (http://www.geotop.no/storefront.php?c1=601) Pal Brekke, an expert on the sun was also consulted. I can find nothing about his expertise in meteoritics. Not even a reference on Google. Hans Amundsen is the most qualified, but is not an expert on the physics of meteoroid impacts. Where are the University professors and scientists who specialize in this sort of thing? Why weren't they consulted two years ago?

Here's what Steinar Midtskogen, a part of the skydiving team has to say:


http://news.discovery.com/adventure/extreme-sports/mysterious-object-in-skydiving-video-identified-140410.htm

So, everybody gets a ton of free publicity, 15 minutes of fame. (Their time is almost up) The Norwegian gov't gets a free commercial to get their brand out there. They heavily promoted the media event on gov't owned television. I'm sure Morten's meteorite sales are sky high, so it's a win, win for the whole crew.


Phil Whitmer

Joshua Tree Earth & Space Museum

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Ford" <mark.ford at southernscientific.co.uk>
To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2014 4:50:36 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fake Norway Rock

Chris and list,

No need for personal attacks. - After all wasn't it your good self that said about 'dowsing' many years ago:

>>"First off, let me say that all you naysaying dowser denialists need to get off your high horses, come down from your ivory towers and >enter the realm of simple, reproducible, empirical evidence-based experimental scientific methodology ... >

So where's the [scientific] evidence that the video is fake or not fake? - Let's face it, it looks too good to be true BUT we just can't tell!



m.




-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Joshua Tree Earth & Space Museum
Sent: 10 April 2014 19:42
To: Meteorite list
Subject: [meteorite-list] Fake Norway Rock

Chris,

You need to install and tune up a bullshit detector. You seem awfully gullible. Plausibly explained by the meteorite hypothesis? Maybe to a moron.


Phil Whitmer

Joshua Tree Earth & Space Museum

--------------------------------------------

Then you need to tune up your analysis skills. And your knowledge of
meteoritics. The video was not falsified, and is hardly "phony". What it
shows is plausibly explained by the meteorite hypothesis. Many, perhaps
most meteorite falls are not preceded by a significant fireball, and
even fewer by acoustics of any sort.

I don't hear many people saying there's a "reasonable chance" this could
be a meteorite. I didn't even hear much of that early on. Only that
nothing obviously excludes this from being a meteorite. That's a
distinction well worth remembering. If this had been trivially rejected
from the beginning, no analysis would have been performed, and that
would be unfortunate.

And that's getting real.

Chris

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Received on Fri 11 Apr 2014 11:08:46 AM PDT