The Barnes & Noble Effect

Over time, several people have wondered why it is that relativity
draws more cranks than, say, quantum theory. Why isn't there a
sci.physics.quantum full of cranks attempting to show that Heisenberg
was a nincompoop, a plagiarist, or a charlatan?

I submit that the simple answer is the Barnes & Noble Effect. There
are more books on the shelves having to do with Einstein, with a
layman's presentation of relativity, or that have an early chapter
that spends a good amount of time talking about Einstein. Einstein has
a lot of popular press. This is what angers cranks: the shelf-space.
They see a disproportionate amount of B&N linear inches, compared with
a remarkable lack of mention from their own chosen profession in the
same bookstore. (It's a bit harder to find, for example, laudatory
biographies of famous engineers, programmers, or tire salesman.)

Interestingly, physicists do not give Einstein the same
disproportionate attention that is seen in the B&N effect. Einstein is
just another luminary in a long list of names that include Gibbs,
Dirac, Feynman, Bardeen, Landau, Rutherford, and others. But you see,
those names don't occupy shelf-space at Barnes & Noble.

The only physicist of late that has gotten the same kind of attention
is Feynman, who made enormous contributions to quantum field theory.
So why doesn't he draw the same kind of fire? Here there is a
corollary to the Barnes & Noble Effect: The Head-Down Clause. Feynman
didn't try to make quantum field theory accessible and completely
understandable to the hobby reader. There are a couple of gentle
introductions, but nothing that gives the impression that "you too can
do the math here". This is where he parts from Einstein, and the fact
that his subject matter is still relatively inaccessible is his condom
against crackpottery.

PD
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: In the News: Was Einstein a fake?
    ... the cranks and the outright crackpots. ... Was Einstein a fake? ... exchanging ideas in a great battle against 'the temple of relativity'. ... on American Public Radio that showcased one anti-relativity nut. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: In the News: Was Einstein a fake?
    ... the cranks and the outright crackpots. ... Was Einstein a fake? ... exchanging ideas in a great battle against 'the temple of relativity'. ... on American Public Radio that showcased one anti-relativity nut. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: The Barnes & Noble Effect
    ... draws more cranks than, say, quantum theory. ... that spends a good amount of time talking about Einstein. ... physicists do not give Einstein the same ... who made enormous contributions to quantum field theory. ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: The Barnes & Noble Effect
    ... draws more cranks than, say, quantum theory. ... that spends a good amount of time talking about Einstein. ... who made enormous contributions to quantum field theory. ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Anti-relativists in an IOP article - recognise names
    ... say for all cranks, this crank is a little bit different from the rest. ... The mathematics of SR is ridiculously simple. ... The affine space isthe same affine space upon which relativity ... It has nothing to do with Einstein. ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)