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    Carmelics

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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Weyl's gauge theory cannot be refuted by Einstein's objection about atomic clocks and meter sticks

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Einstein's objection appeals to the empirical fact that spectral lines of atoms are sharp and universal, which is an observable constraint any viable theory must satisfy.
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    • 2.Weyl's geometry entails path-dependent rescaling of intervals, which would produce spectral line broadening detectable even without a complete dynamical theory of matter.
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    • 3.A theory's empirical adequacy can be refuted by robust observational data even in the absence of a full dynamical account of the measuring instruments involved.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
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    • 1.The logical structure of the supporting arguments commits a tu quoque fallacy: the unavailability of dynamical models cuts equally against Weyl's own theoretical predictions.
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    • 2.If no reliable dynamical model of clocks existed in 1918, Weyl could not claim his theory was empirically coherent, since its physical interpretation equally presupposes such models.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Atoms, clocks, and meter sticks are complex dynamical objects whose behavior in arbitrary gravitational and electromagnetic fields can only be inferred from a detailed dynamical theory of matter
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    • 2.No reliable dynamical models of such objects were available in 1918
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    • 3.Without such models, there is no justification for assuming that clock rates are correctly modeled by the length of a timelike vector
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