Tag: Kip Thorne

World Socialist Web Site Didn’t Like ‘Interstellar’: Social justice is more imporant than space travel–according to them

Most normal Americans probably don’t know that there is a World Socialist Web Site, but there is. In fact, there are a lot of web sites throughout the world dedicated to socialism and they are primarily aimed at the young, the stupid, and the uneducated masses that lack natural aptitude. Socialism is attractive to the infinitely, and incurably lazy because it allows them to gain resources at the expense of somebody else’s work. It is far from fair because those who have natural ambition and drive are constantly plucked throughout their lives and punished for their drive by the collective masses who call themselves socialists. There are a lot more socialists than most people realize—and they are a lot more open about their activity outside of the United States. There is still a stigma in America toward socialism because of the foundations of capitalism that formed the prosperous country. So socialists and would-be communists keep their identification concealed behind “alternative” terminology to perpetrate their ruse against society.

I have identified to readers here what Interstellar was all about in my review, which can be seen by clicking here. The film has made within just three weeks over $500 million dollars, most of it overseas—particularly communist China and somewhat capitalist South Korea. The film underperformed in the United States largely due to the intellectual weight of the subject matter. Thinking is not fashionable in America currently, so given the nature of Interstellar, an almost 3 hour film that does not involve any sex or even romance—is a lot to ask out of American film audiences to sit though. They for the most part are scared of a physics experiment that does not involve someone flashing boobies somewhere within it. Those who love Interstellar in America are those who like to think. In societies already suppressed by communism and collectivism however—they do enjoy thinking because it’s the only freedom that they have—and they LOVE Interstellar. Forget the stereotypes that Asians are good at math, the movie market in the East loves thinking movies—which Interstellar is.

But socialists don’t like thinking movies because they require non-thinking mentality to execute their ridiculous political and economic policies. Communists in China have seen first-hand what a debacle their policies have been and the are moving toward capitalism instead of away from it like Americans have been for so long—and they see the message behind Interstellar as hope for their dire situations. Elsewhere, particularly around Europe, socialists see the message of Interstellar as a threat to their climate change religion of earth worship so they attack the premise of the plot with the same voracity that Bible thumpers profess that evolution is not a scientific factor in plant and animal life development.

For proof of this discriminatory condition against capitalist endeavors such as a non-climate change movie, below are some hilarious excerpts from the World Socialist Web Site as they reviewed Interstellar.  The World Socialist Web Site is essentially The Huffington Post only without the filter of progressivism to mask the hard left slant. The WSWS is written by The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) which is the name of two Trotskyist internationals; one with sections named Socialist Equality Party which publishes the World Socialist Web Site, and another linked to the Workers Revolutionary Party in Britain.   The International Committee originated as a public faction of the Fourth International. It was formed in 1953 by a number of national sections of the FI that disagreed with the course of the International Secretariat of the Fourth International led at that time by Michel Pablo (Raptis) and Ernest Mandel (Germain). The Committee was co-ordinated by the American section, the Socialist Workers Party, and included the British section led by Gerry Healy and Pierre Lambert’s Parti Communiste Internationaliste (PCI) in France. Trotskyist groups in various other countries, notably in Austria, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Nahuel Moreno‘s group in Argentina, also joined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Committee_of_the_Fourth_International

Needless to say, they didn’t like the movie, here’s what they said:

Interstellar is part of a trend in contemporary science fiction movies, and cinema in general, that subscribes to the notion that everything in this planet is already lost. Brand’s brilliant scheme is simple: if we cannot save the Earth, let’s leave it. The idea of abandoning the planet for a fresh start in another part of the universe is alarming, irritating. Responsible scientists, artists and others need to address the present social and political challenges, instead of ignoring them or projecting them far away.

Toward the end, when Cooper awakes on board a NASA space station orbiting Saturn, it seems that people are living in harmony. As was the case at the beginning of the film, there is no reference to the social context. Is this a world with a different economic structure, with social justice, free from capitalist exploitation? Does Nolan think the discovery of another planet will automatically make human beings’ relationships better? Or is humankind a species destined to wander through the universe without hope for all eternity?

Nevertheless, the overall plot resolution is ridiculous. Nolan prefers providing easy, indulgent answers to the audience rather than working through thought-provoking questions.

At one point, Amelia says: “Love is the one thing we are capable of perceiving that transcends time and space.” But beyond the vindication of the family institution, the classic setting of the petty bourgeois, the film does not dare to go anywhere. Ultimately, what is so striking about Interstellar is the contradiction between the science and technology (including film technology) and the poverty of the ideas. It is easier for many filmmakers to imagine a fifth dimension and coming out the other end of a black hole than it is for them to study our social organization and construct a critical picture of it.

Incoherent and boring for long stretches, Interstellar is a galactic mess: a sci-fi extravaganza, in which Nolan becomes the prisoner of his own gravity. His work says little about the human condition, our world and its relation with the universe around us. Made for $165 million, it has already grossed more than $130 million in the US, and $225 million in the rest of the planet since its release. If Nolan’s film reveals anything, it would be the mediocre state of American studio filmmaking and the undemocratic global system of distribution and exhibition.

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/11/29/inte-n29.html

Notice how the key words of socialism were placed in the article from their philosophic vantage point, “capitalist exploitation,” “social justice,” and the illustrious “bourgeois.” Their biggest gripe with the film is that the Nolan brothers decided to take the plot line of earth worship completely out of the factors of consideration and just left earth behind for destinations yet unknown. By doing so all the tenants of progressive and socialist belief are instantly diffused. Socialism and communism only work when there are no other options for a society—and capitalism is destroyed. This is why they tend to mostly be greenie weenie types and old hippie tree huggers with tie die t-shirts hanging in their closets and an occasional aroma of marijuana smoke emitting from their urban dwellings. They have made a religion out of earth worship and attached it directly to political activism—which ultimately attacks capitalist enterprises like coal consumption, carbon emissions, and creates EPA activism through regulation.

 

The Nolan brothers behind Interstellar come from England and have seen the effects of socialism there first hand—and their movies reflect their dislike of the practice. They have a right to their opinion and many people in the world agree with them, measured by box office take. Consider two movies with equal star power and budgets along with length—such as Cloud Atlas versus Interstellar. Interstellar blows away Cloud Atlas as movie goers voted with their wallets—Interstellar was a pro capitalist message where Cloud Atlas was a very progressive/socialist type of story line. Movie goers rejected Cloud Atlas and have supported Interstellar. (Read my thoughts on Cloud Atlas here) Even Ronald Reagan toyed with communism in his early years but was scared away from it while shooting a movie in England. After that, Reagan became a diehard capitalist who helped destroy communist Russia in a spending war they could not win with their repressive economy.

Socialists require no options to sell their ideals to society, and Interstellar takes movie goers completely out of the earth worship culture of progressives and gives them something else to think about besides social justice. Given that option, socialists throughout the world are watching as years of mind-numbing programming are erased with a simple three-hour Christopher Nolan movie. This is precisely why my own children have been to see Interstellar three times over the last three weeks. When my oldest daughter had any option she wanted for her 25th birthday, she chose to see Interstellar for the third time—and I am proud of her for supporting such a wonderful picture.   I want to see it again just because I know it galls socialists to no end to see such philosophic competition arguing against their policies.

 

Kip Thorne is hardly a bastion of conservatism along with his openly left-leaning Interstellar producer Lynda Obst. Thorne is an academic whom I admire immensely, so I forgive him for his old hippie ways. It’s alright so long as he stays on campus and keeps his fingers out of the business world where capitalism rules. Lynda was producing Interstellar with Steven Spielberg and if things had stayed the way they were lining up Interstellar would have been a good film like A.I. or something to that effect, but it would not have made nearly as much money. Science geeks would go to the film, but conservatives would stay away because of all the hippie messages that Obst and Spielberg would have sprinkled in—and the $200 million dollar project might have broken even in the world-wide market. But Obst had a problem, after a writer’s guild strike pulled Jonathan Nolan away then Spielberg had to bail, she had no other option but to take the next best thing, Christopher Nolan fresh off his Dark Knight films. The Nolans working together once again rewrote the script, cut out all the hippie sludge, and put together a film that truly took viewers off this planet and all the problems associated with it. The result is an international box office smash that will redefine the film industry—especially in the Asian market.

So the socialists of the world are watching the success of Interstellar with a serious case of the goo. They are miserable to see such a rejection of their social philosophies, and Interstellar is very much a rejection of their assumptions—that’s partly what makes it so wonderful. So if you really want to piss off a socialist—go see Interstellar a few more times and support it with the kind of revolution that the communists in America are calling for in Ferguson. The best way to solve many of the social problems that afflict the world is to put more money in people’s pockets and upgrade their standard of living. Space shows promise in that direction—but more importantly, capitalism offers those solutions. Socialism leads mankind to earth worship and more EPA regulations. Capitalism leads to space, and the many opportunities for the world found there. It is that realization that has the World Socialist Web Site feeling so dejected. And that makes me very, very happy.

 

“But beyond the vindication of the family institution, the classic setting of the petty bourgeois, the film does not dare to go anywhere.” Now, you know what’s wrong with American public schools—what a terrible, diabolical attitude toward family structure. It should be clear what socialists are out to destroy.

Rich Hoffman

www.OVERMANWARRIOR.com

Navagate the Universe of Kip Thorne: Solar system driven climate change that is inevitable

There are some who are anxious that Christopher Nolan’s new film Interstellar is another blind narrative from the Hollywood left portraying climate change as a central theme based on Al Gore’s global warming concerns. The science of that leftist position is a fiction. Nolan’s climate change is based on events well beyond the control of anything mankind can do, and dictates that earth’s inhabitants must leave the planet or face extinction. Nolan’s view and that of his brother who wrote the film is much more galactic based, and not rooted in the political scheme to increase taxation on productivity through the sale of carbon credits. It is based on legitimate science, and very real concerns which are unraveling the nerves of everyone who has so far seen the film, and will shatter the reality of all those who will see it. As stated in a previous article on this subject, Interstellar is based on a very dear book to me called Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne who is an executive producer on the new film. Needless to say it will be an incredible movie—but it will not be just another example of leftist trash and theoretical nonsense. So do not let the early concerns about such things keep you from the wonderful experience of seeing this movie. The science is beyond the scope of most, including all the climate bashers from the political left, so they will be equally displaced upon viewing the contents of Interstellar.

Even more impressive as an unforeseen byproduct of the release of Kip’s book into this screen format are the marketing opportunities that have presented themselves as the release date has approached. My wife and I have read Kip’s book so many times that the pages of our hard cover edition are literally falling out of the binding. The edges are blackened from our fingertips and the glue no longer holds the pages to the spine of the book—which is quite thick. When my children were very young, my wife used to take them to the pool in Mason, Ohio and let them play while she read that book for many, many hours contemplating the contents. It is one of the great books of science ever put to print. So it was bewildering to me to discover that the Interstellar websites shown below have released a game based on the film that is just fantastic. Paramount has just released the new Android game on Google Play based on director Christopher Nolan’s upcoming sci-fi epic Interstellar and it is a tad different from the normal movie tie-in as the player can not only create his or her own solar system but can also explore it as well as others made by fans.

This game is no space shooter but one that is supposed to simulate real physics as you pilot a ship through these solar systems. Here’s a quick bullet list of the game’s features:

  • Create your own solar system and share it with friends
  • Customize planets, stars and asteroids
  • Pilot the Endurance through friend’s and other fan’s solar systems
  • Upgrade your ship to increase durability and range
  • Earn mission patches for completing objectives
  • Based on Newtonian physics with simulated gravitational fields endorsed by the movie’s science advisor Kip Thorne
  • Slingshot between planets and return research data to Earth
  • Navigate past massive black holes

Needless to say I downloaded the app onto my iPad and I spent the entire weekend playing it—nearly nonstop. It was absolutely fascinating to traverse through Kip Thorne’s treasured book finally with a video game played on my tablet. Absolutely stunning! The most fun in the game is navigating past the black holes, which are rendered accurately and really for the first time ever. Part of the means for getting to worm holes so that you can punch through various layers of folded space-and time, is by sling-shooting passed the dreaded black holes.

http://www.interstellar-movie.com/

http://www.androidcentral.com/interstellar-movie-based-game-android-lets-you-make-and-explore-your-own-solar-system

If you have the means and scientific inquiry, this is a must have app—a real journey and best use imaginable for a few moments at the airport waiting to catch a flight. It duplicates some of the most basic concepts of Kip Thorne’s book so wonderfully. For instance, one of the ways that you collect power to stay in space is to move into orbit around a sun. It is difficult to maintain a trajectory that puts you in that sweet spot orbit, but once you do, you can load up on power to further your voyage. The trouble is, while in orbit around a sun, its imprint into the space-time continuum is much slower than the time on earth. So while you are communicating with earth on your missions, time for them is moving at a much more rapid way than it is for you during your power collection around suns. Also, the distance between planets involves many millions of miles which is passed by instantly in the game. It does calculate out the years the endeavor is taking so that it is understood how much time is passing on earth while all this effort is being undertaken.

What this does is shatter the concept of time as a liner type of thing that is currently understood. Instead, it plays with time as a force of momentum relative to where you are and what kind of mass the object you are near has on the space around it. To this effect space is divided up in the game with a grid system that shows the imprint the planet or sun involved has on the surrounding area. Within that imprint time will be affected differently than in other places within the galaxy, or galaxies involved. For a simple app, it is yet another example of a giant leap forward for human endeavor, to have such a powerful conceptual tool on a device that you can whip out in a McDonald’s over lunch and play a quick mission involving advanced physics concepts.

Often it is these by-products of such endeavors that films like Interstellar bring to the table of contemplation. And I am so excited that Kip’s treasured book is finally making it to formats of understanding that are so accessible. I knew when I first read the book Black Holes and Time Warps that there was something very special going on, and always thought that a fantastic movie could be made based on the concepts. But few in Hollywood really have the mind for something like that. I never fantasized that someone like Kip Thorne would be given a seat at the table to actually produce such a thing for mass audiences. And in a game app designed to bring awareness to the movie for marketing reasons, the Interstellar game does two things, it helps introduce people not familiar with Kip Thorne’s work to some of the basic ideals that have to be understood to relate to the actual movie. But for someone like me, who already loved the book, it provides the opportunity to dwell in that world in a virtual reality that has so far only been possible in a physics equation and the most active imaginations. It is just a wonderful addition to what is proving to be a very exciting time to be alive.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to navigate passed a black hole in a distant solar system so that I can get to the worm hole that takes me back to earth before everyone is dead by the time I get there. And I’ll do it while eating a Big Mac, drinking a nice cold Coca Cola, and eating some upsized French Fries. Capitalism at its finest!

Rich Hoffman

www.OVERMANWARRIOR.com

The Dream of Kip Thorne: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’

Over twenty years ago I read a book by Kip Thorne about black holes and time warps that was a treasure I will never forget. In it the theoretical physics applied I knew would alter the way human beings relate to virtually everything in their lives. It has taken a long time, but finally that applied science is emerging into a film that I think will shatter the perceptions many have of their reality and I am ecstatic about its release in theaters everywhere on November 7th. I have been waiting a long time for this movie as the subject matter is one that excites great passion in me. The topic of black holes as a category of science is an obsession of my wife who spends most of her time contemplating them and how they relate to the universe. It makes for some interesting dinner conversation. As I pay attention to politics and social sciences to a large degree, she would rather not have her mind encumbered with such sluggish perceptions. But when it comes to theoretical physics and the morality of the universe—she blooms like a spring flower. The movie is called Interstellar and was developed by Steven Spielberg then taken over and directed by Christopher Nolan in 2010, whom I have said so many positive things about as a young film maker.

When the movie Back to the Future came out, the film left a mark on the public consciousness that changed social vocabulary. It was a Spielberg produced project that made discussions about the space-time continuum a topic of dinner time conversation. Mankind became smarter because of the comedy Back to the Future due to the presentation of the theoretical science involved. A few years later Spielberg did it again with Jurassic Park and the concept of DNA building of living creatures. Complicated discussion about DNA engineering soon filled the airwaves and mankind took another complicated step forward. Only through the popular action movie Jurassic Park was the hard debate about DNA framed for public dialogue. In the new film Interstellar the concept of space, time, and even the life of the earth will be brought into a focus yet unexplored properly. That is because Kip is the executive producer of this important film and Christopher Nolan along with composer Hans Zimmer are willing to take epic risks to portray these complicated elements on-screen for audiences who had been previously unaware of these scientific concepts.

Interstellar is an upcoming 2014 science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine, the film features a team of space travelers who travel through a wormhole. It was written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, who combined his idea with an existing script by his brother that was developed in 2007 for Paramount Pictures and producer Lynda Obst. Nolan is producing the film with Obst and Emma Thomas. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, whose works inspired the film, acted as both an executive producer and a scientific consultant for the film.

Warner Bros., who produced and distributed some of Nolan’s previous films, negotiated with Paramount, traditionally a rival studio, to have a financial stake in Interstellar. Legendary Pictures, which formerly partnered with Warner Bros., also sought a stake. The three companies co-financed the film, and the production companies Syncopy and Lynda Obst Productions were enlisted. The director also hired cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema since his long-time collaborator Wally Pfister was busy working on Transcendence, his directorial debut. Interstellar was filmed with a combination of anamorphic 35mm and IMAX film photography. Filming took place in the last quarter of 2013 in locations in the province of Alberta, Canada, in southern Iceland, and in Los Angeles, California. The visual effects company Double Negative created visual effects for Interstellar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)

Kip Stephen Thorne (born June 1, 1940) is an American theoretical physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. A longtime friend and colleague of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, he was the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) until 2009[2] and one of the world’s leading experts on the astrophysical implications of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. He continues to do scientific research, and is reported to work on the 2014 science-fiction film Interstellar.[3]

Thorne was born in Logan, Utah, the son of Utah State University professors D. Wynne Thorne and Alison C. Thorne, a soil chemist and an economist, respectively. Raised in an academic environment, two of his four siblings are also professors. He became interested in science at the age of eight, after attending a lecture about the solar system. Thorne and his mother then worked out calculations for their own model of the solar system.

Thorne rapidly excelled at academics early in life, becoming one of the youngest full professors in the history of the California Institute of Technology. He received his B.S. degree from Caltech in 1962, and Ph.D. degree from Princeton University in 1965. He wrote his doctoral thesis, Geometrodynamics of Cylindrical Systems, under the supervision of relativist John Wheeler. Thorne returned to Caltech as an associate professor in 1967 and became a professor of theoretical physics in 1970, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor in 1981, and the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics in 1991. In June 2009 he resigned his Feynman Professorship (he is now the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus) to pursue a career of writing and movie making. His first film project will team him with Christopher Nolan.

Throughout the years, Thorne has served as a mentor and thesis advisor for many leading theorists who now work on observational, experimental, or astrophysical aspects of general relativity. Approximately 50 physicists have received Ph.D.s at Caltech under Thorne’s personal mentorship.

Thorne is known for his ability to convey the excitement and significance of discoveries in gravitation and astrophysics to both professional and lay audiences. In 1999, Thorne made some speculations on what the 21st century will find as the answers to the following questions:

  • Is there a “dark side of the universe” populated by objects such as black holes?
  • Can we observe the birth of the universe and its dark side using radiation made from space-time warpage, or so-called “gravitational waves”?
  • Will 21st century technology reveal quantum behavior in the realm of human-size objects?

His presentations on subjects such as black holes, gravitational radiation, relativity, time travel, and wormholes have been included in PBS shows in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom on the BBC.

Black hole cosmology

Main article: Hoop Conjecture

Thorne has made contributions to black hole cosmology. Thorne proposed his Hoop Conjecture that cast aside the thought of a naked singularity. The Hoop Conjecture describes an imploding star turning into a black hole when the critical circumference of the designed hoop can be placed around it and set into rotation.[5] That is, any object of mass M around which a hoop of circumference can be spun must be a black hole. As a tool to be used in both enterprises, astrophysics and theoretical physics, Thorne has developed an unusual approach, called the “Membrane Paradigm“, to the theory of black holes and used it to clarify the “Blandford-Znajek” mechanism by which black holes may power some quasars and active galactic nuclei. Thorne has investigated the quantum statistical mechanical origin of the entropy of a black hole and the entropy of a cosmological horizon in an inflationary model of the universe. With Wojciech Zurek he showed that the entropy of a black hole of known mass, angular momentum, and electric charge is the logarithm of the number of ways that the hole could have been made. With Igor Novikov and Don Page he developed the general relativistic theory of thin accretion disks around black holes, and using this theory he deduced that with a doubling of its mass by such accretion a black hole will be spun up to 0.998 of the maximum spin allowed by general relativity, but not any farther. This is probably the maximum black-hole spin allowed in nature. He, along with his mentor John Wheeler, additionally proved that it was impossible for cylindrical magnetic field lines to implode. Both Hawking and Thorne have theorized that a singularity exists in the interior of a black hole.

Wormholes and time travel

Thorne was one of the first people to conduct scientific research on whether the laws of physics permit space and time to be multiply connected (can there exist classical, traversable wormholes and “time machines“?). With Sung-Won Kim, Thorne identified a universal physical mechanism (the explosive growth of vacuum polarization of quantum fields), that may always prevent spacetime from developing closed timelike curves (i.e., prevent “backward time travel”). With Mike Morris and Ulvi Yurtsever he showed that traversable Lorentzian wormholes can exist in the structure of spacetime only if they are threaded by quantum fields in quantum states that violate the averaged null energy condition (i.e. have negative renormalized energy spread over a sufficiently large region). This has triggered research to explore the ability of quantum fields to possess such extended negative energy. Recent calculations by Thorne indicate that simple masses passing through traversable wormholes could never engender paradoxes – there are no initial conditions that lead to paradox once time travel is introduced. If his results can be generalized, they would suggest that none of the supposed paradoxes formulated in time travel stories can actually be formulated at a precise physical level: that is, that any situation in a time travel story turns out to permit many consistent solutions.

Relativistic stars, multipole moments and other endeavors

With Anna Żytkow, Thorne predicted the existence of red supergiant stars with neutron-star cores (Thorne–Żytkow objects). He laid the foundations for the theory of pulsations of relativistic stars and the gravitational radiation they emit. With James Hartle, Thorne derived from general relativity the laws of motion and precession of black holes and other relativistic bodies, including the influence of the coupling of their multipole moments to the spacetime curvature of nearby objects. Thorne has also theoretically predicted the existence of universally antigravitating “exotic matter” – the element needed to accelerate the expansion rate of the universe, keep traversable wormhole “Star Gates” open and keep timelike geodesic free float “warp drives” working. With Clifford Will and others of his students, he laid the foundations for the theoretical interpretation of experimental tests of relativistic theories of gravity – foundations on which Will and others then built. Thorne is currently interested in the origin of classical space and time from the quantum foam of quantum gravity theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kip_Thorne

All of that complicated dialogue will be presented with a coherent and compelling story driven by the director Christopher Nolan. It will be an epic event to say the least as many of Kip’s theories described above will be presented in Interstellar. For my wife and I it will make for marvelous diner conversation afterwards—an event that is rare indeed. It’s the kind of thing that we talk about often and it will be a pleasure to see such obscure topics presented in a way that elevates the future dialogue of the human race. On November 7th 2014, mankind will take a new step forward toward a fate that has not yet been written.

Rich Hoffman

www.OVERMANWARRIOR.com