Dark matter is not 'bunk science'... But I still don't believe it exists

Physicists say that 80 percent of the mass in the universe is dark matter, and not only this, dark matter is supposedly all around us, we just can’t see it. Sounds pretty crazy, doesn’t it. Indeed, every time I mention dark matter, I get flooded with comments about how silly the idea is. “Fantasy folly.” “bunk science,” “epicycles,” “a mirage”, “unscientific,” and on and on it goes.

I really feel for astrophysicists, but those complaints are not totally wrong.

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#science #physics #shortly

[Name-otxw]

I'm not smart enough to have an opinion.

[heisag]

I used to be a bit undecided about dark matter, but now i'm not so sure.

[flymypg]

I spent 30 years developing software for a variety of embedded and real-time systems. During the design and proposal phases, the system physics looked elegant, and the software seemed straightforward. Things got more complicated as we started developing prototypes, which we'd often attribute to the limitations of the prototype system, and that we'd "clean it up" before going into production. Well, all too often the software would simply get even more complicated, an effect we'd lump under the word "cruft".

However, once in a great while the cruft would overwhelm the underlaying elegant model, and the software would become too complex to maintain or even function, forcing a complete re-think of the entire system. And, lo and behold, a new elegance would arise from the mess, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

I view Dark Matter in much the same way. We started with an observational problem to solve and found a simple and elegant theoretical solution. Then more data arrived, the problem became more difficult, and the theory became more complex to account for it.

It seems to me that the Dark Matter theory may need to accumulate a bit more cruft before it becomes totally unworkable, permitting a new theoretical perspective to take hold.

[padraigohooligan]

To paraphrase Richard Feynman, It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment (the data/results), it's wrong.

[ceesfaber]

The dark matter hypothesis feels reminiscent of the 1900's when folks were trying to fit waves into an Aether theory ....

[deltasyn]

I was always under the impression that Dark Matter was a 'placeholder term' used to describe something that is unknown to us. Thus, dark matter isn't just one thing as it could represent a composition of elements that are mostly unknown to us.

[charlesbradshaw]

Adjusting the theory to fit the data is much better than adjusting the data to fit the theory. I also think that new data are made available much faster than we can analyze and periods like this is good for theorists.

[robzuber]

I'd like to see a video explaining the numerous issues with MOND.

[davidcampos]

00:02 Dark matter is a controversial topic in the physics community.
00:48 Challenges to the theories of dark matter
01:35 Physicists use dark matter to explain missing unification of gravity and quantum theory
02:16 Dark matter theory explains a lot in science
03:02 Dark matter story became more complicated over time
03:47 Unexplained physical processes and unnecessary details undermine dark matter theory.
04:29 Dark matter theory is controversial due to falsifiability issues.
05:13 Dark matter theory has become increasingly complicated and less explanatory over time.
Crafted by Merlin AI.

[JK_Vermont]

Thank you for this! It’s refreshing to see the theory called out. It gets tiring listening to astrophysicists talk about it like it’s a known fact.

[stewy]

Favorite part of the video for me is the final sentence before the “thanks for watching.” Not because I wish this to happen, but because I enjoy lighthearted quips, especially when delivered deadpan-style!

[maxanimator]

i must say, i am grateful for the sheer amount of videos (albeit quite shorter) that you've been releasing lately ; each one of them being enticing enough to start watching, i hope that this model will allow you to attract more viewers ; besides, their shorther length may also be seen as an advantage to some.

[hexadecimal]

Is there an estimate to the weight of the universe? Or in other words; does all matter (seen & unseen) have mass? Or what am I missing?😊

[xazauhitra]

who’s here based on prof gupta of ottawa research

[Chemiolis]

As long as I can do dark chemistry with dark matter I will be satisfied.

[russmarkham]

I thought by studying binary systems with large separations, some forms of MOND had also been ruled out? Dark matter may be a bit suspect these days, but I think the alternatives also have problems fitting all the data. How about a video on MOND pros and cons now?

[JKTCGMV]

My understanding with dark matter was that it was never something that astrophysicists asserted was some concrete thing, but rather it was simply a placeholder they used. There’s something going on that we haven’t figured out, and that gap in our understanding is called “dark matter”.

That’s how I’ve understood it from Dr Becky, who I feel like was poorly represented

[echotango]

Gave you a super like not for this very fine video particularly but because your whole channel deserves it. Thanks for all you do. I’ll give more in time.

[chronixchaos]

Thanks for this video. Due to a small storage capacity, Dark Matter has pushed the worry of Global Warming out of my head.

[thaywiz_gwar]

Seeing references to both Dr. Becky and Uncle Roger in the same video is not something I knew I needed in my life.