![]() ![]() Only near extremely dense and massive objects do the effects of curved space typically become important. In special relativity, we treat space as being indistinguishable from flat, which is an excellent approximation almost everywhere in the Universe. Rather than being bound by the limits of special relativity - where massive objects can only approach, but can never reach or exceed, the speed of light - warp drive recognized the novel possibility brought about by general relativity: where the fabric of space is curved. Warp drive started off as a speculative idea. Wormholes are problematic for space travel, in theory, because they tend to destroy the craft inside. This NASA illustration shows what it’s like to theoretically pass through a wormhole, based on a negative-energy induction ring design. ![]() ![]() As the more familiar refrain goes, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” It’s part of why we demand, as part of the scientific process, independent, robust confirmation of every result, as well as the scrutiny of our scientific peers to ensure we’re all doing our research properly and interpreting our results correctly. Similarly, if you’re an experimenter or observer who’s become enamored with a particular explanation or interpretation of the data, you have to fight against your own biases concerning what you expect (or, worse, hope) the outcome of your labors will indicate. If you’re the one proposing a new idea, you must avoid falling into the trap of becoming enamored with it if you do, you run the risk of choosing to emphasize only the results that support it, while discounting the evidence that contradicts or refutes it. In perhaps his most famous quip of all time, celebrated physicist Richard Feynman once remarked, when speaking about new discoveries, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself-and you are the easiest person to fool.” When you do science yourself, engaging in the process of research and inquiry, there are many ways you can become your own worst enemy. ![]()
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