Alexander Abian Dies
Sam Wormley
http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=%22Alexander+Abian%22
http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=%22Alexander+Abian%22&hc=0&hs=0
"TIME HAS INERTIA"
"ON JUDGMENT DAY I WILL PUT THE ENTIRE CREATION ON TRIAL".
---Alexander ABIAN (1993)
Ying Qiao
Hi guys,
I feel very sad right now after reading this message. I donot know much
about him, we started exchanging email messages very recently. In his last
message I received, he asked me to show his "ABIAN's TROLLEY" to people
at my department, but I didnot take it very seriously. Now, no need...but
I feel sad for him.
Ying
Ms Ying Qiao
Experimental Surface Physics, Department of Applied Mathematics,
Research School of Physical Sciences, Australian National University,
CANBERRA A.C.T. 0200, Australia
paschal
On Wed, 28 Jul 1999, Ying Qiao wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Jul 1999, Sam Wormley wrote:
>
> > Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
> >
> > http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=%22Alexander+Abian%22
> > http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=%22Alexander+Abian%22&hc=0&hs=0
> >
> >
> > "TIME HAS INERTIA"
> >
> > "ON JUDGMENT DAY I WILL PUT THE ENTIRE CREATION ON TRIAL".
> >
> > ---Alexander ABIAN (1993)
> >
> >
>
> Hi guys,
>
> I feel very sad right now after reading this message. I donot know much
> about him, we started exchanging email messages very recently. In his last
> message I received, he asked me to show his "ABIAN's TROLLEY" to people
> at my department, but I didnot take it very seriously. Now, no need...but
> I feel sad for him.
He was one of the most "fun" people I've met through email; and the most
variously gifted. This internet-thing won't be the same with him gone.
-P.
Chris Marriott
Sam Wormley wrote in message <379EF4F0...@cnde.iastate.edu>...
>Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24
How sad :-).
Chris
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Marriott, SkyMap Software, UK (ch...@skymap.com)
Visit our web site at http://www.skymap.com
Astronomy software written by astronomers, for astronomers
Thomas Szymkiewicz
> Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
> http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=%22Alexander+Abian%22
> http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=%22Alexander+Abian%22&hc=0&hs=0
>
>
> "TIME HAS INERTIA"
>
> "ON JUDGMENT DAY I WILL PUT THE ENTIRE CREATION ON TRIAL".
>
> ---Alexander ABIAN (1993)
This is very sad news. Abian will always be part of my highschool
memories (that's when I discovered his posts). He was quite crazy but
nevertheless a pretty accomplished researcher.
Please take a moment of silence for Dr. Alexander Abian.
Tom.
--
Tom Szymkiewicz (mr...@email.unc.edu)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
USA
www.unc.edu/~mrtom
Cyberia
duality. Some of his postings struck me as utter nonsense, while
others I could not follow due to my own lack of understanding of
concepts many on these two NGs find to be childsplay.
He will be missed, regardless of which way one remembers him.
--
SeeYa !
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Hello... Is this thing on ?
Thomas Szymkiewicz <mr...@email.unc.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.A41.3.95L.99072...@login4.isis.unc.edu...
MacAnagram
Byron Matthews
I had never heard of Alexander Abian, but here is a quote from something
he wrote after a lecture by Gould: "We are unique and the most
intelligent beings in the entire Cosmos."
Whatever else he was or did, he seems to have been a man with a tendency
to go beyond the data.
Byron
Rod Mollise
>he wrote after a lecture by Gould: "We are unique and the most
>intelligent beings in the entire Cosmos."
>
>Whatever else he was or did, he seems to have been a man with a tendency
Hi:
And, given this quote with a penchant for hubris.
I don't doubt that he was a very nice man with some very interesting stories to
tell. But his MULTITUDINOUS posts on a clearly foolish nature on poor old
sci.astro (unfortunately) made that sad place what it is today. The man
apparently had some _real qualifications_, but his constant TIME/MASS posts,
not to mention his screeds against evolution were enough to drive anyone bugs!
Peace,
Rod Mollise
Mobile Astronomical Society
http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index7.html
The Home of _From City Lights to Deep Space_:
Rod's Guidebook for the _Urban_ Deep Sky NUT!!
*********************************************************
T_M_C...@scs.dera.gov.uk
<swor...@cnde.iastate.edu> wrote:
>Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
> http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=%22Alexander+Abian%22
> http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=%22Alexander+Abian%22&hc=0&hs=0
>
>
>"TIME HAS INERTIA"
>
> "ON JUDGMENT DAY I WILL PUT THE ENTIRE CREATION ON TRIAL".
>
> ---Alexander ABIAN (1993)
Sorry to speak ill of the dead.
I followed some links from yahoo and I don't believe that this man was
a good mathematician, and his physics ideas seem unscientific to say
the least. How did he become a mathematics professor? I have heard
that the man who invented the linear motor (or something like this)
had/has some very bizaar opinions about gyroscopes, so it is possible
to be talented in one area while producing nonsense in another. Is
this the case with professor Abian?
Tom.
Mark Gingrich
> Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
I think it appropriate that we all observe a "gram" of silence
in honor of Professor Abian, upon his entering the Great Cosmic
Killfile in the sky.
--
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Mark Gingrich gri...@rahul.net San Leandro, California
Dave Salovesh
Sam Wormley <swor...@cnde.iastate.edu> opined:
>Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
Thanks for those links. Is there a link to the obit itself?
MacAnagram
is the post to this newsgroup. His death was also
reported in the summer of 1998.
Blair P. Houghton
Alexander Abian has inertia.
--Blair
"You do the math."
Cyberia
--
SeeYa !
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Hello... Is this thing on ?
MacAnagram <as...@jkl.com> wrote in message
news:379f4fbe$0$2...@nntp1.ba.best.com...
Boris Mohar
>Sam Wormley wrote:
>
>> Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
>
>I think it appropriate that we all observe a "gram" of silence
>in honor of Professor Abian, upon his entering the Great Cosmic
>Killfile in the sky.
One could say that he has amassed his quota of time.
Regards
Boris Mohar
VIATRACK printed circuit designs
Chris Marriott
Thomas Szymkiewicz wrote in message ...
>This is very sad news. Abian will always be part of my highschool
>memories (that's when I discovered his posts). He was quite crazy but
>nevertheless a pretty accomplished researcher.
>
>Please take a moment of silence for Dr. Alexander Abian.
Come off it - the guy was a lunatic and made an absolute PEST of himself on
several newsgroups - especially "sci.astro", absolutely ruining it for its
"legitimate" users. Now he's dead he suddenly becomes a saint and we all
have
to say how wonderful he was?
Let's not be hypocrites - the man was a pain in the ass and I for one won't
shed any
tears for him.
Rod Mollise
>several newsgroups - especially "sci.astro"
Hi Chris:
In fact, I feel that this character was _instrumental_ in ruining poor
sci.astro. Five years ago or so, that newsgroup was still mostly a nice place.
Some off the wall 'I know what was BEFORE the big bang" discussions, but not,
well, _crazy_ talk. Mr. "time/mass," I'm sorry to say, came along and in
addition to doing his own damage, helped open it up for all the other
"Nancies" ....
Lumpy Darkness
: Let's not be hypocrites - the man was a pain in the ass and I for one won't
: shed any tears for him.
Chris,
While we need not be hypocrites, it seems callous and mean to speak so
poorly of the man at the time of his death (if the reports are accurate).
Why not just say nothing?
You certainly are a great asset to the astronomical community with the
wonderful program you've written, but imagine if all people remembered you
for were (if you had any) your memorable idiosyncracies.
FWIW, I had Abian in my killfile.
May he rest in peace.
--
Lumpy Darkness
S.F. bay area's spot for active observational astronomers
The Astronomy Connection - http://www.seds.org/TAC
Uncle Al
>
> Chris Marriott said. . . :
>
> : Let's not be hypocrites - the man was a pain in the ass and I for one won't
> : shed any tears for him.
There are those far more deserving who still tread the Earth.
(I vote for cremation, because you cannot be too sure.)
--
Uncle Al Schwartz
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
http://www.ultra.net.au/~wisby/uncleal/
http://www.guyy.demon.co.uk/uncleal/
http://uncleal.within.net/
(Toxic URLs! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" The Net!
pete
>
> Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
> http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=%22Alexander+Abian%22&hc=0&hs=0
>
> "TIME HAS INERTIA"
>
> "ON JUDGMENT DAY I WILL PUT THE ENTIRE CREATION ON TRIAL".
>
> ---Alexander ABIAN (1993)
What is your source of information on this?
--
pete
Erik Max Francis
> While we need not be hypocrites, it seems callous and mean to speak so
> poorly of the man at the time of his death (if the reports are
> accurate).
Why does everyone automatically become a saint at their own funeral?
--
Erik Max Francis / email m...@alcyone.com / whois mf303 / icq 16063900
Alcyone Systems / irc maxxon@efnet / finger m...@members.alcyone.com
San Jose, CA / languages En, Eo / web http://www.alcyone.com/max/
__ USA / icbm 37 20 07 N 121 53 38 W / &tSftDotIotE
/ \__ \
\__/ \ / Pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
\__/ / Dr. Sidney Freedman
John M. Dollan
> Come off it - the guy was a lunatic and made an absolute PEST of himself on
> several newsgroups - especially "sci.astro", absolutely ruining it for its
> "legitimate" users. Now he's dead he suddenly becomes a saint and we all
> have
> to say how wonderful he was?
>
> Let's not be hypocrites - the man was a pain in the ass and I for one won't
> shed any
> tears for him.
Wasn't he supposed to have died once before? No, seriously, I think that I
remember a while back someone saying that he had died. Is this just another
false report?
--
John M. Dollan
Resident Assistant-Residence Life
Montana State University-Northern
(406)265-6185
ICQ 308260
Visit Explorations at http://www.mcn.net/~dollan
"Exploration is an obsession. The more I discover, the more I want to know.
Unfortunately I will not be able to discover everything I want."
--Meave Leakey
"For I dipped into the Future, far as human eye could see; saw the vision of
the world, and all the wonder that would be."
--Alfred Lord Tennyson
"If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible he
is almost certainly right, but if he says that it is impossible he is very
probably wrong."
--Arthur C. Clarke
Lumpy Darkness
: Lumpy Darkness wrote:
: > While we need not be hypocrites, it seems callous and mean to speak so
: > poorly of the man at the time of his death (if the reports are
: > accurate).
: Why does everyone automatically become a saint at their own funeral?
I did not call him a saint. I did not say anything good about the man
either. But I think mom had the best advice, which is certainly most
approriate at a time when the one you refer to can't speak on his own
behalf....
"If you can't say something good.... say nothing at all"
I have nothing more to say about your assertion.
Jerry Cordaro
Erik Max Francis wrote:
> Lumpy Darkness wrote:
>
> > While we need not be hypocrites, it seems callous and mean to speak so
> > poorly of the man at the time of his death (if the reports are
> > accurate).
>
> Why does everyone automatically become a saint at their own funeral?
Mostly, I'd think, because of the natural unwillingness of people to speak
badly of someone who cannot ever defend themselves again.
J
Gregory L. Hansen
Chris Marriott <ch...@NOSPAM.skymap.com> wrote:
>
>Thomas Szymkiewicz wrote in message ...
>>This is very sad news. Abian will always be part of my highschool
>>memories (that's when I discovered his posts). He was quite crazy but
>>nevertheless a pretty accomplished researcher.
>>
>>Please take a moment of silence for Dr. Alexander Abian.
>
>several newsgroups - especially "sci.astro", absolutely ruining it for its
>"legitimate" users. Now he's dead he suddenly becomes a saint and we all
>have
>to say how wonderful he was?
>
>Let's not be hypocrites - the man was a pain in the ass and I for one won't
>shed any
>tears for him.
Sorry, Chris, I can't feel your pain. I rarely read his messages. They
were easy to avoid. If you think he was a pain in the ass, you've brought
it on yourself.
--
"I sense a ninja presence on the other side of this wall... Oh, darn. It
was just a cat."
Richard A. Schumacher
>> : Let's not be hypocrites - the man was a pain in the ass and I for one won't
>> : shed any tears for him.
He'll be back. God will grow tired of arguing with him :_>
Kristopher/EOS
>
> I had never heard of Alexander Abian, but here is a quote
> from something he wrote after a lecture by Gould: "We are
> unique and the most intelligent beings in the entire Cosmos."
>
> Whatever else he was or did, he seems to have been a man with
He didn't CARE about data. The man was, or is, an utter
fruitcake. I say "or is" because rumors of his death have
graced Usenet before.
Kristopher/EOS
Kristopher/EOS
>
> I find I too am saddened by the news. He had an intriguing
> sort of duality. Some of his postings struck me as utter
> nonsense, while others I could not follow due to my own
> lack of understanding of concepts many on these two NGs
> find to be childsplay.
Here's a hint...Albian was talking nonsense all the time.
> He will be missed, regardless of which way one remembers him.
He will?
Don't be so sure this is genuine, anyway...he's been reported
dead on Usenet before. He's always been brain-dead, but...
Kristopher/EOS
Erik Max Francis
> Wasn't he supposed to have died once before? No, seriously, I think
> that I
> remember a while back someone saying that he had died. Is this just
> another
> false report?
Could be. I recall one other time, maybe more, when it was falsely
reported he was dead.
Cyberia
What's usenet without a few cranks ?
--
SeeYa !
----------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Hello... Is this thing on ?
Kristopher/EOS <eosl...@net-link.net> wrote in message
news:7no57u$6...@newsops.execpc.com...
Arctangent the Infallible
Sam Wormley wrote in message <379EF4F0...@cnde.iastate.edu>...
>Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
Again, he dies? He dies every year! and then
continues to post!
What-EVER.
Who has a little purple truck?
jerry warner
are the media! I also vote for cremation, dead or just faking.
jerry warner
Sam Wormley wrote:
Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=%22Alexander+Abian%22
Sam Wormley
>
> In article <379EF4F0...@cnde.iastate.edu>,
> Sam Wormley <swor...@cnde.iastate.edu> opined:
>
>
Not that I can find... the Funeral service is Thursday 10am in
Ames, Iowa. An unusual and gifted man that I have known since
the early seventies... His stuff of the last ten years is sort
of brilliant nonsense... But always serious and entertaining.
Mark Fergerson
Sam Wormley wrote:
>
> Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
> http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=%22Alexander+Abian%22
> http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=%22Alexander+Abian%22&hc=0&hs=0
>
I just recently "spoke" with him via e-mail re: his photo on Frolov's
site. Abian assured me it is genuine. Go there, and take a look at
another man with whom we may no longer have stimulating, frustrating,
edifying conversations. How seldom we get to see who we're arguing with
on Usenet...
A quote from my e-mail to him on finding the photo:
Go to the site, pick "English" (unless your Russian is much better than
mine), select "Project Time Machine", then "Time theories and known
experiments". A list of people comes up; you're there.
The site:
http://www.time-machine.spb.ru
Mark L. Fergerson
William Sommerwerck
William Sommerwerck
entertaining?
paschal
On Wed, 28 Jul 1999, Kristopher/EOS wrote:
> Here's a hint...Albian was talking nonsense all the time.
How do you folks know that Alex wasn't having fun with this,
in a way that he thought might make some of you think in
different ways and entertain some new thoughts? I've always
seen him as a great performance artist; and I don't doubt
that someday he'll be shown to have been getting at something
that matters.
-P.
Thomas Szymkiewicz
>
> Thomas Szymkiewicz wrote in message ...
> >This is very sad news. Abian will always be part of my highschool
> >memories (that's when I discovered his posts). He was quite crazy but
> >nevertheless a pretty accomplished researcher.
> >
> >Please take a moment of silence for Dr. Alexander Abian.
>
> Come off it - the guy was a lunatic and made an absolute PEST of himself on
> several newsgroups - especially "sci.astro", absolutely ruining it for its
> "legitimate" users. Now he's dead he suddenly becomes a saint and we all
> have
> to say how wonderful he was?
>
> Let's not be hypocrites - the man was a pain in the ass and I for one won't
> shed any
> tears for him.
>
> Chris
Dr. Alexander Abian had ~250 articles and 3 books published. His theory
of the equivalence of mass and time was well, intriguing, to say the
least.
As someone commented...a gram of silence for Dr. Abian.
Tom
--
Tom Szymkiewicz (mr...@email.unc.edu)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
USA
www.unc.edu/~mrtom
Sam Wormley
He made people think... made us clarify our arguements against his assertions.
Thomas Szymkiewicz
> >Come off it - the guy was a lunatic and made an absolute PEST of himself on
> >several newsgroups - especially "sci.astro"
>
> Hi Chris:
>
> In fact, I feel that this character was _instrumental_ in ruining poor
> sci.astro. Five years ago or so, that newsgroup was still mostly a nice place.
> Some off the wall 'I know what was BEFORE the big bang" discussions, but not,
> well, _crazy_ talk. Mr. "time/mass," I'm sorry to say, came along and in
> addition to doing his own damage, helped open it up for all the other
> "Nancies" ....
In fact, I feel that this character was _instrumental_ in infusing a fresh
breath of air on the stale and decrepid state of our fundamental knowledge
of the world.
With Love and Affection,
Tom.
Phil Wheeler
Kristopher/EOS wrote:
>
> Here's a hint...Albian was talking nonsense all the time.
>
In that he is not alone (comment no intended to refer to anyone in THIS
NG, of course).
Phil
Bruce Scott TOK
paschal <pas...@wam.umd.edu> wrote:
>
>
>On Wed, 28 Jul 1999, Kristopher/EOS wrote:
>
>> Here's a hint...Albian was talking nonsense all the time.
>
>in a way that he thought might make some of you think in
>different ways and entertain some new thoughts? I've always
>seen him as a great performance artist; and I don't doubt
>that someday he'll be shown to have been getting at something
>that matters.
I agree... I've always felt that Abian was never doing anything other
than taking the piss. He must have had a lot of fun with the responses.
--
cu,
Bruce
drift wave turbulence: http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bds/
Rod Mollise
>breath of air on the stale and decrepid state of our fundamental knowledge
>of the world.
Hi Tom:
Well, then, let's just agree to disagree. IMHO, nice and wonderful person that
he may have been, if his 'theories' are a reflection of his mental state, he
was just as mad as a hatter. And his goofy ideas not only did not do anything
to advace fundamental knowledge, they contributed to ruining a wonderful forum
where people could exchange ideas on science. If he was doing all this as
'performance art' or as a 'joke to make us thing' my opinion of him is even
lower.
Peace,
Rod Mollise
Mobile Astronomical Society
http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index7.html
The Home of _From City Lights to Deep Space_:
Rod's Guidebook for the _Urban_ Deep Sky NUT!!
*********************************************************
paschal
He found it especially hilarious when someone once called him an "ancient
fuck". None of these guys ever "got over" on Abian.
-P.
Chris
>Lumpy Darkness wrote:
>
>> While we need not be hypocrites, it seems callous and mean to speak so
>> poorly of the man at the time of his death (if the reports are
>> accurate).
>
>Why does everyone automatically become a saint at their own funeral?
I was wondering the same thing. Typical touchy-feely PC '90s crap. I can
only hope that the '00s will bring some sanity back to our society.
Chris
Kristopher/EOS
friend, but I fail to see how his nonsense was brilliant,
or how it added anything to any of the newsgroups it
polluted.
The man was, at least in his Usenet incarnation, was a
raving twit.
Kristopher/EOS
Thomas Szymkiewicz
> >In fact, I feel that this character was _instrumental_ in infusing a fresh
> >breath of air on the stale and decrepid state of our fundamental knowledge
> >of the world.
>
> Hi Tom:
>
> Well, then, let's just agree to disagree. IMHO, nice and wonderful person that
> he may have been, if his 'theories' are a reflection of his mental state, he
> was just as mad as a hatter. And his goofy ideas not only did not do anything
> to advace fundamental knowledge, they contributed to ruining a wonderful forum
> where people could exchange ideas on science. If he was doing all this as
> 'performance art' or as a 'joke to make us thing' my opinion of him is even
> lower.
>
>
> Peace,
> Rod Mollise
Yeah, well, I agree. I was just joking.
hath...@stsci.edu
What with everything on the 'net being archived, don't be surprised to
see the above being quoted when it's your turn in the box.
In reality, it's an ancient superstition not to speak ill of the dead.
It's a reminder of our own mortality. Didn't start in the '90s.
(Although I was astonished at how it was applied to Nixon. Yeesh.)
Michael L. Cunningham
Now how can one clarify sense against stupidity?
--
Michael L. Cunningham
http://home.earthlink.net/~bogeystar/
Kristopher/EOS
Read his obit @ http://www.amestrib.com/news.cfm?num=143
He was serious about his nonsense.
Kristopher/EOS
Erik Max Francis
> How do you folks know that Alex wasn't having fun with this,
> in a way that he thought might make some of you think in
> different ways and entertain some new thoughts?
If you continue a troll consistently for ten years, you've been pretty
much promoted to crankhood.
--
Erik Max Francis / email m...@alcyone.com / whois mf303 / icq 16063900
Alcyone Systems / irc maxxon@efnet / finger m...@members.alcyone.com
San Jose, CA / languages En, Eo / web http://www.alcyone.com/max/
__ USA / icbm 37 20 07 N 121 53 38 W / &tSftDotIotE
/ \__ \
\__/ \ / Only the winners decide what were war crimes.
\__/ / Gary Wills
paschal
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999, Erik Max Francis wrote:
> If you continue a troll consistently for ten years, you've been pretty
> much promoted to crankhood.
I don't think Alex "trolled". I think he had points to make, and
went about his own way of making them. He also seems to have had
a very good time in the bargain, and always got the best of you
guys ;-)
-P.
Paul F. Dietz
> I don't think Alex "trolled". I think he had points to make, and
> went about his own way of making them.
The only point he ended up making was that he was insane.
Paul
Erik Max Francis
> I don't think Alex "trolled". I think he had points to make, and
> went about his own way of making them.
You missed the context; someone was suggesting that Abian had been
trolling the whole time. I was pointing out that if you troll for that
long, you're doing something more than trolling.
paschal
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999, Erik Max Francis wrote:
> paschal wrote:
>
> > I don't think Alex "trolled". I think he had points to make, and
> > went about his own way of making them.
>
> You missed the context; someone was suggesting that Abian had been
> trolling the whole time. I was pointing out that if you troll for that
> long, you're doing something more than trolling.
Thank you. I'm sorry if I misunderstood.
He was a lot more than you saw on the newsgroups; he was an
extraordinary - and extraordinarily talented - man, who will be
remembered very fondly and with great respect by many.
-P.
HC
> Hi Tom:
>
> Well, then, let's just agree to disagree. IMHO, nice and wonderful person that
> he may have been, if his 'theories' are a reflection of his mental state, he
> was just as mad as a hatter. And his goofy ideas not only did not do anything
> to advace fundamental knowledge, they contributed to ruining a wonderful forum
> where people could exchange ideas on science. If he was doing all this as
> 'performance art' or as a 'joke to make us thing' my opinion of him is even
> lower.
>
> Peace,
> Rod Mollise
> http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index7.html
> The Home of _From City Lights to Deep Space_:
> Rod's Guidebook for the _Urban_ Deep Sky NUT!!
> *********************************************************
How did this crackpot become a professor? He might have
been brilliant in the field of mathematics, but why did
he feel the need to come up with wild theories in the
field of science? Mathematics is no science. Science
requires rigorous observation, experimentation and hard data.
Erik Max Francis
> He was a lot more than you saw on the newsgroups; he was an
> extraordinary - and extraordinarily talented - man, who will be
> remembered very fondly and with great respect by many.
Too bad you missed your chance to marry him.
Erik Max Francis
> And, if memory has not failed me, his postings ceased for a couple of
> weeks... Perhaps someone that knows when the old crackpot leaves for
> his summer vacation was bold enough to try the same hoax twice in the
> same ng.
You're letting your paranoia get away with you, if you think the _Ames
Tribune_ is in on the hoax.
Uncle Al
>
> He was a lot more than you saw on the newsgroups; he was an
> extraordinary - and extraordinarily talented - man, who will be
> remembered very fondly and with great respect by many.
"who will be remembered very fondly and with great respect by both"
would still be an overstatement.
--
Uncle Al Schwartz
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
http://www.ultra.net.au/~wisby/uncleal/
http://www.guyy.demon.co.uk/uncleal/
http://uncleal.within.net/
(Toxic URLs! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" The Net!
Paul F. Dietz
> "who will be remembered very fondly and with great respect by both"
> would still be an overstatement.
Prof. Abian filled a much-needed gap in these newsgroups.
Paul
Michael Richmann
Hard to say. He may have been a crank from the get-go. OTOH, there are
all too many cases of professors who have "slipped their gears" in later
years as well...
Byron Matthews
Erik Max Francis wrote:
>
> paschal wrote:
>
> > He was a lot more than you saw on the newsgroups; he was an
> > remembered very fondly and with great respect by many.
>
> Too bad you missed your chance to marry him.
Now THAT'S funny!
Byron
Erik Max Francis
> I got one reply, from A.A. under his own name, saying, in effect,
> you'll never get rid of me!
He's been posting to sci.* for as long as I've been reading, which is
for about ten years. That he'd never leave was quite evident.
j...@here.net
>His obit was posted here last summer also.
>
Yes, it was. And many, including myself, believed it.
And, if memory has not failed me, his postings ceased for a couple of
weeks... Perhaps someone that knows when the old crackpot leaves for
his summer vacation was bold enough to try the same hoax twice in the
same ng. If this is so, I congratulate him for his correct estimation
of our gullibility.
When Abian started to post again, a couple of weeks later, no one
admitted to the embarrassment of being the victim of a hoax, and
Abian's death was completely forgotten... It is amazing what egg on
one's face does to our memory.
It is a pity that many were embarrassed by falling for the hoax. To
me, it was a good learning experience that reinforced my belief that
skepticism is essential to good science.
John Colter
The address is fake to deter spam.
Jim Van Nuland
>Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 15:11:16 -0700
>Organization: Alcyone Systems
>Message-Id: <37A0D184...@alcyone.com>
>X-Accept-Language: en, eo
>paschal wrote:
>> How do you folks know that Alex wasn't having fun with this,
>> in a way that he thought might make some of you think in
>> different ways and entertain some new thoughts?
>If you continue a troll consistently for ten years, you've been pretty
>much promoted to crankhood.
That's not all. He also posted under other name(s), to "refute" the
nonsense posted under his own name.
Every September, another bunch of new students gain access to the
internet, and there he'd be, trolling the newbies. A few, of course,
took the bait, and I wrote to two of his victims, to suggest ignoring the
trolls, and hope he'll go away.
I got one reply, from A.A. under his own name, saying, in effect,
you'll never get rid of me!
* SLMR 2.1a * Jim Van Nuland, Secretary, San Jose Astronomical Assoc.
__
| Internet: Jim.Van...@sjpc.org
|
| A service of the San Jose IBM PC Club, running OS/2 Warp
Lapidary
Sam Wormley <swor...@cnde.iastate.edu> wrote:
> Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
I'm sorry he's gone (if he has).
The world will be a duller place without him.
Let's just hope Uncle Al doesn't suddenly start being nice --
that would *really* be the end.
--
Regards, Peter D Jones .
"I had a million pounds in the bank. I spent most
of it on booze, women and fast cars. The rest I
wasted" -- George Best.
P.S With ABian dead, and Archie on his 'grand tour',
how will Mr Parry cope?
He'll have take up basket-weaving or something.
P.P.S as opposed to basket-case baiting.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Lapidary
Mark Gingrich <gri...@rahul.net> wrote:
> Sam Wormley wrote:
>
> > Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
> in honor of Professor Abian, upon his entering the Great Cosmic
> Killfile in the sky.
>
LOL! Excellent!
> --
> ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
> Mark Gingrich gri...@rahul.net San Leandro, California
>
>
--
Regards, Peter D Jones .
"I had a million pounds in the bank. I spent most
of it on booze, women and fast cars. The rest I
wasted" -- George Best.
Blair P. Houghton
>Sam Wormley wrote:
>>
>>He made people think... made us clarify our arguements against his
>>assertions.
Albeit in the same way that the local crime rate makes us
install burglar alarms and bar our windows.
It would have been better if he'd just pointed out the flaws
in the arguments instead of scaring us that someone might take
him seriously.
>Now how can one clarify sense against stupidity?
Sounds like science and epistemology to me.
--Blair
"If only they'd listen to reason..."
Blair P. Houghton
>
>Why does everyone automatically become a saint at their own funeral?
The Pope asked God to put it in the adduser script...
--Blair
"Hey! Larry! It's written in Perl!"
Blair P. Houghton
>Cyberia wrote:
>> nonsense, while others I could not follow due to my own
>> lack of understanding of concepts many on these two NGs
>> find to be childsplay.
>
>Here's a hint...Albian was talking nonsense all the time.
>
>
>He will?
No.
We still have Jack Sarfatti to fill the voids.
--Blair
"Where have all the crackpots gone..."
-Bob "B1FF!!" Dylan
Blair P. Houghton
>
>What's usenet without a few cranks ?
About a thousand cranks short of the goal.
--Blair
"Thanks. I'll be here all week."
Blair P. Houghton
>
>Prof. Abian filled a much-needed gap in these newsgroups.
Well, next time we see one of him coming, we'll be sure
not to be out of gaps...
--Blair
"What?"
Blair P. Houghton
>I fail to see how Mr. Abian's contributions have been "edifying."
Travertine is formed when mineral-rich water flows over
vegetation. The minerals slowly coat the plants, fossilizing
them, while the plants grow through and over the minerals.
In a (geologically) short time, a 1- or 2- cfs stream (i.e.,
a 6-inch-wide brook) can lay down thousands of cubic yards of
travertine rock, creating cascading dams for miles downstream.
--Blair
"Or did it just feel that way?"
Blair P. Houghton
> Mr. Abian has become somewhat of a legend at Iowa
> State and the rest of the world as the man who wanted
> to blow up the moon, Andrew said. But to his family and
> friends he was a normal man who liked Beethoven,
> Picasso and chocolate eclairs.
<*Sniff.*>
Sounds like me.
--Blair
"Except the blowing up the moon part,
you understand...unless we do it in
a controlled manner, using it as fuel
for Spaceship Earth when we want to
leave the Solar System..."
Mark Fergerson
At first glance, that looks like an especially extravagant non
sequitur. But it's a perfect example of what I meant; if you insist on
looking at things in a particular way, a fresh viewpoint can seem quite
loony. Thanks.
Mark L. Fergerson
Paul F. Dietz
> >Prof. Abian filled a much-needed gap in these newsgroups.
>
> Well, next time we see one of him coming, we'll be sure
> not to be out of gaps...
But we *needed* that gap! Sheesh. Too bad he filled it.
Paul
paschal
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999, Erik Max Francis wrote:
> Too bad you missed your chance to marry him.
I would have ended up braining him with a frying-pan routinely.
-P.
paschal
On 30 Jul 1999, Jim Van Nuland wrote:
> I got one reply, from A.A. under his own name, saying, in effect,
> you'll never get rid of me!
Looks like he was right. Y'all are going to be mentioning him
forever.
-P.
Bruce Scott TOK
Blair P. Houghton <b...@primenet.com> wrote:
>We still have Jack Sarfatti to fill the voids.
Ahhh, there's the guy I liked... unfortunately he appears to have lost
his knack for storytelling.
--
cu,
Bruce
drift wave turbulence: http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bds/
ed_turco
>Rod Mollise wrote:
>> Hi Tom:
>>
>> Well, then, let's just agree to disagree. IMHO, nice and wonderful person that
>> he may have been, if his 'theories' are a reflection of his mental state, he
>> was just as mad as a hatter. And his goofy ideas not only did not do anything
>> to advace fundamental knowledge, they contributed to ruining a wonderful forum
>> where people could exchange ideas on science. If he was doing all this as
>> 'performance art' or as a 'joke to make us thing' my opinion of him is even
>> lower.
>>
>> Peace,
>> Rod Mollise
>> Mobile Astronomical Society
>> http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index7.html
>> The Home of _From City Lights to Deep Space_:
>> Rod's Guidebook for the _Urban_ Deep Sky NUT!!
>> *********************************************************
>How did this crackpot become a professor? He might have
>been brilliant in the field of mathematics, but why did
>he feel the need to come up with wild theories in the
>field of science? Mathematics is no science. Science
>requires rigorous observation, experimentation and hard data.
Mathematics is the Queen of Sciences and don't you forget it! :)
Ed Turco
Edward A Lowther
: In article <379EF4F0...@cnde.iastate.edu>,
: I'm sorry he's gone (if he has).
: The world will be a duller place without him.
...
: how will Mr Parry cope?
: He'll have take up basket-weaving or something.
: P.P.S as opposed to basket-case baiting.
Wow, I thought AA was just some college kid at that
Agricultured U of I in Ames, Iowa. Was he, like, the
beekeeper or something? Do I have to go buy a copy
of 'The Des Moines Register' or 'The International Herald
Tribute' to see the obit?!
inquiring minds want to no
This post has several misplaced lettersZ.
Edward "HiT here!" Lowther,
--
Q.L.I.M.E.
(Quid lucrem iste mihi est.)
--------========///=======--------( Show me the money!! ) --=-
Disclaimer: Yeah, they know. They don't mind. Anything else?
HC
>
> >How did this crackpot become a professor? He might have
> >been brilliant in the field of mathematics, but why did
> >he feel the need to come up with wild theories in the
> >field of science? Mathematics is no science. Science
> >requires rigorous observation, experimentation and hard data.
>
> Mathematics is the Queen of Sciences and don't you forget it! :)
>
> Ed Turco
Mathematics is only a tool, and it's mostly a mental thought process.
I stand by my statement: mathematics is no science. There are no
laboratories filled with equipment used to check the validity of
theorems and proofs. I'm not trying to belittle the importance of
math. I'm just trying to point out the distinctive differences
between math and science that Prof. Abian didn't seem to understand.
Uncle Al
>
> In article <379EF4F0...@cnde.iastate.edu>,
> Sam Wormley <swor...@cnde.iastate.edu> wrote:
> > Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
> >
>
> I'm sorry he's gone (if he has).
>
> The world will be a duller place without him.
>
> that would *really* be the end.
Uncle Al's Web page takes on Canadians this week. Do you think it is
easy hitting on fools and cripples?
Easy and fun!
HC
>
> Hard to say. He may have been a crank from the get-go. OTOH, there are
> all too many cases of professors who have "slipped their gears" in later
> years as well...
>
> --
> Mike
> http://www.concentric.net/~richmann/
Mental illness is one of the most common untreated illnesses in this country.
Jim Carr
... one newsgroup snipped ...
In article <7nsgaf$8n7$2...@newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu>
ea...@konichiwa.cc.columbia.edu (Edward A Lowther) writes:
>
>Wow, I thought AA was just some college kid at that
>Agricultured U of I in Ames, Iowa.
"On the internet, no one knows you are a dog."
Of course, in this case you would have to be relatively new to
Usenet (or trolling from the group I snipped) not to have read
who he is in past discussions, figured out that he had much
more than a clue from some of those discussions, or just look
him up at Iowa State and examine his publication list.
>Was he, like, the beekeeper or something?
He was a famous mathematician. I happen to know someone who took
group theory from him at ISU, and that preson considered him to be
an excellent teacher in addition to his outstanding professional
reputation in mathematics.
>Do I have to go buy a copy
>of 'The Des Moines Register' or 'The International Herald
>Tribute' to see the obit?!
Unclear (but I know it was not in the Register), but a link to a
suitable news article was posted in sci.physics.
--
James A. Carr <j...@scri.fsu.edu> | Commercial e-mail is _NOT_
http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~jac/ | desired to this or any address
Supercomputer Computations Res. Inst. | that resolves to my account
Florida State, Tallahassee FL 32306 | for any reason at any time.
Brian Tung
> > Why does everyone automatically become a saint at their own funeral?
>
> badly of someone who cannot ever defend themselves again.
In Latin, they say, "De mortuus nihil nisi bonum."
Brian Tung / byron elbows
br...@isi.edu (What, me worry about spam?)
Astronomy Corner at http://gost.isi.edu/brian/astro/
C5+ Home Page at http://gost.isi.edu/brian/astro/c5plus/
Brian Tung
> Mathematics is only a tool, and it's mostly a mental thought process.
> I stand by my statement: mathematics is no science. There are no
> laboratories filled with equipment used to check the validity of
> theorems and proofs.
Until relatively recently, that statement was indubitable. Now, with
computer-validated proofs, it's not so clear. Some proofs may break
the problem into so many pieces that a single human could not even
read, understand, and verify them all, let alone generate the proof
in the first place. Is this then purely a thought process? Or has
the computer become a virtual laboratory in which to validate a proof?
We perhaps feel intuitively that it is different from other sciences,
but what are the strict bases for this difference, and would we have
come up with those criteria before computer-validated proofs?
Incidentally, mathematics is a tool, but there are plenty of people
working on mathematics in and for itself. To pick a famous example,
Wiles certainly wasn't working on his proof of FLT for the sake of
some application. Now, you can turn around and use elliptic curves
in science and engineering, but that doesn't make the original math
itself a tool *only*.
David Nakamoto
I gave up on sci.astro a long time ago because I couldn't stand
the things being "discussed" there. There was some useful stuff,
but a lot of it seemed to be theories without facts to back them
up, and I mean consistent, repeatable facts. Putting up with such
people might be the price we pay for freedom of speech, but when it
ruins what was once a newsgroup where some sanity prevailed, turning
it into arbitrary assertions and factless idea spouting, then it's
gone too far.
And this was not a case of putting on the filters, but simply that
the intent and direction of the newsgroup becomes something it was
not. And it could have been prevented if people would remember a
basic tenant of reason...
"Every leap in the air begins with TWO FEET on the ground, and that's
where you have to return to."
My two cents.
Rod Mollise wrote:
>
> > Come off it - the guy was a lunatic and made an absolute PEST of
> > himself on several newsgroups - especially "sci.astro"
>
> Hi Chris:
>
> In fact, I feel that this character was _instrumental_ in ruining
> poor sci.astro. Five years ago or so, that newsgroup was still
> mostly a nice place. Some off the wall 'I know what was BEFORE
> the big bang" discussions, but not, well, _crazy_ talk. Mr.
> "time/mass," I'm sorry to say, came along and in addition to doing
> his own damage, helped open it up for all the other "Nancies" ....
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sweeping cobwebs from the edges of my mind
Had to get away to see what we could find
Hope the days that lie ahead bring us back to where they've led
Listen not to what's been said to you
--- Graham Nash
Name: David I. Nakamoto
E-mail: din@blankreg (David I. Nakamoto)
--------------------------------------------------------
Russell Martin
> Lapidary (Peter D Jones) (peter...@yahoo.com) wrote:
> : In article <379EF4F0...@cnde.iastate.edu>,
> : Sam Wormley <swor...@cnde.iastate.edu> wrote:
> : > Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
> : >
>
> : I'm sorry he's gone (if he has).
>
> : The world will be a duller place without him.
> ...
> : how will Mr Parry cope?
> : He'll have take up basket-weaving or something.
>
> : P.P.S as opposed to basket-case baiting.
>
> Wow, I thought AA was just some college kid at that
> Agricultured U of I in Ames, Iowa.
That's Iowa State University of Science and Technology in Ames.
Go Cyclones. :-)
U of I is University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Regards,
Russell Martin
Byron Matthews
> That's Iowa State University of Science and Technology in Ames.
> Go Cyclones. :-)
>
> U of I is University of Iowa in Iowa City.
>
> Regards,
> Russell Martin
Iowa State. Is that the one they call Moo-U?
Just kidding! (For those who don't know, there is and was a (ahem)
somewhat intense rivalry between these two schools. I've heard that the
reason they stopped playing each other in football for many years had
something to do with buildings being burned down...)
1967 Hawkeye Byron
William Hamblen
>How did this crackpot become a professor?
Abian was not the first. Arthur Eddington published some strange
things in his dotage.
On the occasions when he posted an article with mathematical content
he talked sense. I'm sure his family, friend and colleagues will miss
him.
P. Edward Murray
really say is that the guy rambled on about baloney all the
time....clearly he was pretty demented either way.
Ed Murray
BMAA
Michael Richmann
>
> Kristopher/EOS <eosl...@net-link.net> wrote:
> >Cyberia wrote:
> >> nonsense, while others I could not follow due to my own
> >> lack of understanding of concepts many on these two NGs
> >> find to be childsplay.
> >
> >Here's a hint...Albian was talking nonsense all the time.
> >
> >> He will be missed, regardless of which way one remembers him.
> >
> >He will?
>
> No.
>
And just when it was getting dull, it looks like Bob McElwaine is back
to liven up the day...
--
Mike
http://www.concentric.net/~richmann/
"Free di$$emination of this information is both encouraged and..."
Torkel Franzen
> He didn't CARE about data. The man was, or is, an utter
> fruitcake.
Actually his mathematical articles often made perfectly good sense.
Erik Max Francis
> And his articles about time and mass were satirical, poking fun at the
> way physicist use dimensions in theories like GR, where time is
> equated
> to length, ... using EXACTLY the same type of arguments to defend his
> contention as do they, ...get it yet. No, he was no dummy.
So you _really_ think that he was just trolling for all these years? I
think you give him way too much credit.
Either way, even if he really _wasn't_ serious, the joke's on him. As
the _Ames Tribune_ article demonstrates, what he will be remembered for
is not being a trickster or a clever mathematician, but rather a loopy
crank.
--
Erik Max Francis / email m...@alcyone.com / whois mf303 / icq 16063900
Alcyone Systems / irc maxxon@efnet / finger m...@members.alcyone.com
San Jose, CA / languages En, Eo / web http://www.alcyone.com/max/
__ USA / icbm 37 20 07 N 121 53 38 W / &tSftDotIotE
/ \__ \
\__/ \ / I'll have to get over this sooner or later. Why not now?
\__/ / Louis Wu
Paul Stowe
writes:
And his articles about time and mass were satirical, poking fun at the
way physicist use dimensions in theories like GR, where time is equated
to length, ... using EXACTLY the same type of arguments to defend his
contention as do they, ...get it yet. No, he was no dummy.
Paul Stowe
Heikki...@no.spam.fi
> Mr. Abian has become somewhat of a legend at Iowa State and the rest of
> the world as the man who wanted to blow up the moon, Andrew said.
Not mention he's a USENET legend. Anyway, Abians conjecture about
time and mass is now proved empirically! We can clearly see that:
An average USENET-reader has spent T = 1E4 seconds to read Abian
Alexander's postings.
Alexander Abian weighted about m = 70 kg.
We recall that the formula was (how can we forget it!):
T = A m^2
Finally we can solve the Abian A-constant because he has left from this
existence.
We solve A and get
A = (1e4 s)/(70^2*kg^2) = 2.0408 s/(kg^2) = 2.0408 Abians
Now we can measure persistence of USENET-writers in Abian units.
The most persistant USENET-writer that you know (except Abian) is perhaps
only 0.2 Abians.
Heikki Orsila If you can't work this equation then
heikki...@ee.tut.fi I guess I'll have to show you the door
Opiskelijankatu 4 E 275 - Spice Girls: Say You'll Be There
040 7325989
Heikki...@no.spam.fi
> FWIW, I had Abian in my killfile.
I have theory which explains the reason why Abian's heart failed.
Some of you have propably seen the movie Matrix... Anyway, we all live in
the Matrix and Abian's heart failed because on 24th July
ONE MILLIONTH KILLFILE-ENTRY was made on him. The Matrix software was
confused by this and decided to kill the infecting software task (ABIAN).
Alan Erskine
Yours sincerely
Alan Erskine
tdb...@mpx.com.au
Sam Wormley <swor...@cnde.iastate.edu> wrote in message
news:379EF4F0...@cnde.iastate.edu...
> Alexander Abian (1923-1999) died July 24.
>
> http://www.northernlight.com/nlquery.fcg?qr=%22Alexander+Abian%22
> http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=%22Alexander+Abian%22&hc=0&hs=0
>
>
> "TIME HAS INERTIA"
>
> "ON JUDGMENT DAY I WILL PUT THE ENTIRE CREATION ON TRIAL".
>
> ---Alexander ABIAN (1993)