Editing 2113: Physics Suppression

{{comic
| number    = 2113
| date      = February 18, 2019
| title     = Physics Suppression
| image     = physics_suppression.png
| titletext = If physics had a mafia, I'm pretty sure the BICEP2 mess would have ended in bloodshed.
}}

==Explanation==
[[White Hat]] is mad at physicists in general and directs his fury at [[Megan]], a physicist. He has a theory and blames physicists for suppressing it. He believes that no one takes it seriously because his theory would disrupt the standard model in physics. This is a common complaint in pseudoscience, and among amateurs who believe they've made an important discovery and aren't taken seriously. The claim that the scientific establishment sticks to particular orthodoxy and refuses to consider ideas that fall outside it. 

Megan responds mockingly to the idea of a "mafia" that suppresses inconvenient science. She points out that, if such an organization existed, they'd "do something about the dark energy people". {{w|Dark energy}} is an unknown form of energy which is hypothesized to permeate all of space, tending to accelerate the expansion of the universe. Dark energy isn't proven to exist, it can't be detected directly, and its nature is unknown, but it's advanced as an explanation of observations which don't conform to accepted theories in physics. 

Megan's point is that dark energy (and the data leading to the hypothesis) are exactly the kinds of things that a science mafia would suppress, if one existed. The data and the theory are highly inconvenient to the accepted physical models, and they compel scientists to acknowledge that there are things about the universe that we still don't understand. This is likely why Megan claims that she's "still mad" at them. And yet, rather than suppress the data or shun people who theorize about it, {{w|List_of_Nobel_laureates_in_Physics#Laureates|2011}} {{w|Nobel Prize}} in physics was awarded to a group of researchers for their work on the topic. The point is that scientists, as a group, are fascinated by unexplained results, and celebrate those who manage to develop new models and theories, even where that forces a re-examination of existing theories. The caveat is that those theories need to be supported by evidence and stand up to rigorous examination. 

The likely explanation for why White Hat's theory is ignored by physicists is that he can't back it up with evidence, and may not even have a cogent model. He may interpret this rejection as "suppression", but radical new theories are never accepted without clear and convincing evidence. Expecting his theory to be embraced without proof suggests he doesn't understand how basic science works. 
 
The title text mentions {{w|BICEP2}} (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization, 2nd generation) which was part of a series of experiments measuring the polarization of the {{w|cosmic microwave background}}. On 17 March 2014, it was announced, to much fanfare, that BICEP2 had detected signals (B-modes) caused by gravitational waves in the early universe (called primordial gravitational waves). A few years later, this announcement was retracted, as it was found that most, if not all, of the reported signal was actually due to interstellar dust within the Milky Way.[https://www.nature.com/news/full-galaxy-dust-map-muddles-search-for-gravitational-waves-1.15975] The word BICEP2 is a wordplay with the biceps brachii, a large arm muscle, indicative of physical strength.

The title text notes that if there had been a physics mafia, then those results would have ended in bloodshed due to the controversy they caused.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat, with his hands balled into fist and held up above him, is talking with Megan.]
:White Hat: You physicists are suppressing my theory because it's inconvenient for your models!
:Megan: Wait, we have a mafia that can suppress annoying results?
:Megan: ''Why didn't they do something about the dark energy people?!''
:Megan: We gave them a Nobel prize but I'm still mad at them!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Nobel Prize]]