Ideology in My Controversy

Discovering who the people are behind a controversy is interesting and informative. Learning more about them can provide context for what the controversy is about. Learning about the two sides of a controversy can provide a more in depth analysis

Betsy Devine "Frank Wilczek Crop" 06/07/2007 via wikimedia.org GNU Free Documentation License

1. Who is involved in the controversy? The two sides of the controversy are Frank Wilczek, a Nobel Laureate for physics and Patrick Bruno, a theoretical physicist.

2. Who are some of the major speakers/writers within these groups? The major speakers of the group are the two physicists who are on opposite sides of the debate. Frank Wilczek is the physicist that is proposing that time crystals are possible perpetual motion machines because they fit through seams of time. While Patrick Bruno is the other physicist who is saying that the law of energy conservation cannot be discounted and that the time crystals that Wilczek is theorizing about exist at a ground state.

3. What kind of social/cultural/economic/political power does each group hold? Each physicist holds great respect in their physics community. However, Frank Wilzek is a Nobel Laureate and therefore he commands more respect.

4. What resources are available to different positions? Since both men are working in theoretical worlds of math and physics the resources available to them are their brains. Both men also have access to the same means of publishing since both of them published their respect opinions on the subject of time crystals in Physics Review Letters.

5. What does each group value? Frank Wilczek believes that time crystals have a possible 4th dimension to them and therefore they may be the first true perpetual motion machines. While Patrick Bruno disagrees with this because time crystals are still under the same rules of conservation of energy as everything else in the universe.

6. What counts as evidence for the different positions? Various mathematical proofs are provided as evidence for both sides of the debate.

7. Is there a power differential between the groups? Frank Wilczek commands more respect in the physics community but going against established theories of the laws of physics puts more power into Patrick Bruno's court. With science though, everything is a theory so if Frank Wilczek's theory is proved correct then the laws of physics may be changed.

8. Is there any acknowledged common ground between groups? Both physicists believe that time crystals exist and that there may be seams of time where some things can sit in the 4th dimension.

9. Is there any unacknowledged common ground? Everything is acknowledged in these scientific journals because the papers are peer reviewed.

10. Do the various groups listen to each other? Both Bruno and Wilczek have responded to each others comments on Wilczek paper. Bruno published a paper to respond to the comment Wilczek sent to him after Bruno published his comment on Wilczek paper regarding perpetual motion and time crystals.