So, This is Science?
In the recent edition (Summer 2016) of Vanderbilt magazine, there's an article titled "Dim Chance." It briefly details how a PhD Student at Vanderbilt debunked some claims of researchers at Penn State and LSU regarding KIC 8462852. Oh, that's "Tabby's star" for all you astrology nuts.
This star is some 1480 light years away, and is nestled in the constellation called Cygnus. Interest among some in the scientific community rose up when the star's namesake, Yale astronomer Tabby Boyajian, reported that some "planet hunters" had noticed fluctuations in the star's light.
Now, I have no idea why this excites some people, but if you're so far bored to tears, just listen to the conclusion of these so-called "planet hunters." They noticed over 100 days, dozens of uneven light fluctuations which they hypothesized must have been caused by large objects passing across its face. So far, still fairly ho-hum. Right?
Not so fast. In come astronomers from Penn State to release a study which said this "bizarre light curve" was "consistent with a swarm of alien-constructed megastructures."
I can't make this stuff up, folks!
So this is serious science? Or Sci-Fi? These are the "experts" educating future leaders of America and the world. This is what has become of "science." It's been reduced to a ridiculous religion that relies upon totally unsubstantiated and un-provable beliefs. Ironically, this is what so many scientists accuse Christians of doing! (Even though our beliefs rest on the most historically reliable Book of antiquity, with many verified evidences.) I wonder how many government dollars went into that research study at Penn State?
Well, thankfully, Michael Lund from Vanderbilt rescued these scientists from their own stupidity by his research showing the light changes "were caused by changes in the instrumentation - not by changes in the star's brightness." In other words, the instruments used to measure the brightness were not consistent over time.
Turns out, the whole hypothesis owes to human error. Ha! Go figure.
Oh how far science has fallen. From men like Kepler, Pascal, Bacon, Newton, and Samuel Morse who did science because they knew a Sovereign Creator God had infused His creation with His own order and glory. Now that's a motivator to do science! But with scientists like we have these days, is it any wonder kids are losing interest?
Whatever we can know or not know about KIC 8462852, our Father God knows its real number, and He calls it by its real name (Psalm 147:4).
by Keith McWhorter