Re: Einstein, Hawking, and a myth about relativity

[Stephen Speicher <sjs@COMPBIO.CALTECH.EDU>]

On Tue, 10 Jun 2003, Hugh Haskell wrote:
> I also recall a couple of other references to the 1919 data not being
> definitive. If memory serves (and it may not, this book is also
> buried) Clifford Will's book Was Einstein Right? asserts that the
> 1919 data left something to be desired.

Will states:

   "Although the eclipse results distinguished clearly
    among the the possibilities of no deflection, the
    Newtonian deflection, and the Einsteinian deflection,
    their relatively large experimental errors made it
    important to repeat the measurements."

Consistent with what I said, and certainly not an endorsement of
the claim that Eddington "wanted the result to be in accordance
with Einstein's theory so badly that he saw what really wasn't
there."

--
Stephen
sjs@compbio.caltech.edu

Ignorance is just a placeholder for knowledge.

Printed using 100% recycled electrons.
-----------------------------------------------------------