real skepticism versus pseudoskepticism: a cautionary tale

by Catte Black

The 9/11 series here has proved interesting in a number of ways. The scientific contributions have been thought-provoking, as has the BTL discussion, the level of which remains(with a few exceptions), consistently high. One thing it has made even more clear than it was before is the chasm between real skepticism and pseudoskepticism.

Real skepticism is solidly sourced in analysis, probabilities and data. Pseudoskepticism is sourced in prejudice, a priori claims of certitude and arguments from authority.

Real skepticism embraces debate, is concerned with ongoing research and avoids certitude. Pseudoskepticism has no interest in debate, eschews research, and wears certitude like a badge of office.

Real skepticism has no need of ad hom. Pseudoskepticism uses ad hom as its one and only weapon.

It’s easy to mistake one for the other, particularly in areas of specialty where we, as laypeople, have limited knowledge. If a scientist claims he has found thermite residue in the WTC dust, how easily do non-scientists evaluate that claim?

And if websites emerge full of voices mocking the claim it’s easy to assume these are science-voices mocking immovable ignorance or stupidity.

And if their mockery is echoed in a thousand media outlets, it’s tempting – particularly for those who aspire to be well-informed – to join in on the assumption it must be based on some sort of obvious condition of fact we are not aware of.

In a society that claims to value rational thinking the consolation and kudos of being part of a seemingly rational consensus is incredibly seductive. And it seduces most of us at some time or another. Discovering somewhere down the line you have been lulled into pseudoskepticism can be a rude awakening.

One of our readers – he’s known as Jeff Jerome Fryer here, but we’ll call him “boggis the cat” because that’s what he calls himself in the discussion featured below – is an indefatigable believer in the infallibility of the NIST fire-collapse theory. To his credit he has been trying really very hard to find sources to back up his beliefs. He isn’t a scientist, but he took the time to find NIST’s reports and to read and quote them extensively.

As a methodology this certainly beats the “haha you suck” approach we’ve seen used by others here. He even went to the International Skeptics Forum, a place he evidently respects, to invite people to come here and debunk the criticisms of the NIST report we’ve been publishing.

And this is where the story becomes a little fable about the difference between real skepticism and the fake kind.

BTC clearly and genuinely believed the ISF were skeptical scientists, or scientifically literate laymen, whose mockery of “twoofers” was based on the unassailable physical rationality of their position. He clearly anticipated they would respond to his request with a detailed and impeccable scientific rebuttal he could re-post here.

Let’s take a look at how that worked out for him.

With what may have been misapplied faith BTC opens the thread he started (titled “Off-Guardian’ running a “9/11” series filled with ‘truther’ woo”), by asking if anyone at the ISF was “interested in having a look at what has been posted up already” on OffGuardian, and “possibly cobbling something together” as a scientific rebuttal:

screen-shot-2016-09-20-at-12-36-25

Did these “skeptics” throw the requested rebuttal together, explaining why Newtonian physics upholds NIST’s claims?

No, they didn’t.

They just evaded and sniggered and sniggered some more.

So, after a while, and clearly feeling ever so slighty dismayed, BTC very politely says ‘ha yes, OffG are really stupid, but about the science…?’

screen-shot-2016-09-20-at-12-40-48

This time at least, a poster calling himself “LSSB” did respond to the question and pointed BTC to another person in another place who he thinks might be able to answer the questions LSSBB apparently couldn’t.

But this is not at all what BTC was expecting. So, yet again, this time with a hint of edge, he asks “thanks”, but “…Am I understanding the NIST model validation process correctly?

screen-shot-2016-09-20-at-12-32-50

“LSSBB” is, once again, the only one to respond, but his answer probably didn’t do much to restore BTC’s dwindling faith.

Don’t understand regarding NIST,”, says this worthy and wel-informed international skeptic, “they had a whole set of websites dedicated to their investigations of the WTC collapses at NIST.gov. Worth reading, however they can get pretty technical….”

screen-shot-2016-09-20-at-12-49-08

Shhh…Listen….that thunking sound you hear is BTC’s heart dropping into his boots at the ghastly realisation these people he looked up to as uber-cool, uber-informed scientifically-trained skeptics know less about the NIST report than he does. One of them read it one time and found it “pretty technical” (no kidding, LSSBB). The rest are apparently so focused on how dumb the “twoofers” are they’ve never had time to look at any of the physical evidence at all.

But who needs evidence when you have grade-school mockery, right? Who needs real skepticism when pseudoskepticism is cheaper, easier and endorsed by your TV?

Poor boggis the cat. A rude awakening indeed.

Despite being diagnosed as “twoofers” by those who claim to know, we’re hoping our 9/11 series might be able to transcend labels and even be a small voice in support of real skepticism – viz the emphasis of data and observation over prejudice and faith-based belief-systems. And we agree with BTC in one thing – if anyone out there knows of good, solid research that supports the NIST fire-collapse hypothesis and rebuts the Harrit et al thermite finding, or any other aspect of the “truther scientist” research, we really want to see it.

You can email us at [email protected]

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Admin
Admin
Sep 29, 2016 12:54 PM

This thread has 300 comments and is becoming unwieldy, so we are closing it. Please feel free to continue your discussions on other 9/11 threads.

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 26, 2016 3:24 PM
The response you posted,

“If science proves a fact to be true no amount of subjective opinion about how believable it is has any relevance. That’s the point.”

In fact, no it isn’t. It’s a point but not the point in this case. It misses the point—despite your claim. No one provided any reply indicating that he’d recognized the logic error—I would like to say that I’m astonished but I’m not. You certainly haven’t shown that you’ve grasped the significance of the logical error. Jerome’s reply was actually quite close and could be argued to intend to say in a bit more round about manner what the actual point is. But you shut him down, ruled him out of order—having missed the error’s significance yourself, you were not well placed to recognize his framing of the answer in a different way.
FAQ # 12 goes,

“Where are the 9/11 Whistleblowers?”

but I’m quite sure that, as it was actually put by many of those who posed it, it went,

If, — or, for the sake of argument, we conditionally accept as given that— your thesis is correct then we are inclined to wonder : ‘Where are the 9/11 Whistleblowers?‘ (*)

To reply to the general question, “If, supposing your theory, “X,” is true, then what about “Y”? –where “Y” assumes (conditionally) the elements of the theory to be true—the reply that, “You may not ask “What about ‘Y’ since ‘X’ is proven (scientifically!).
Yes, of course it is, but, again,
if ‘X’ is true, then why do (or don’t) we find (or not find) ‘Y’?
You may not wish-away or wave away that query by insisting that, since ‘X’ is proven, raising the question ‘Y’, concerning the proven theory, is out of order, since ‘Y’ presupposes the correctness of ‘X’ and is raised as an anomalous circumstance only when ‘X’ is assumed to be true.
Our lawyer is in a circular argument he has not recognized (at this point) and apparently, neither have you.

1. We assert that theory X is true and we insist that its truth is proven.
2 If so, then why is (or isn’t) ‘Y’ the case?
3. Your question about ‘Y’ is invalid because ‘X’ is proven.
Or, again, simplified even further for effect to better see the circularity:
I’m right about X.
But if you’re right about X, then what about Y.
I’m right about X. That’s proven. Since that’s proven, you cannot ask “In that case, ‘What about “Y.” ‘

Or, reduced to the absolute minimum:

“I’m right.”
“If so, what about this—?”
“But I’m right.”

Your admonishment of Jerome, which went,

“If you a priori reject all the evidence from one side as being inadmissible for some reason then of course you will find no evidenc to oppose your view. You must decide whether that is a rational approach.”

sums up and applies directly and quite neatly to both the positions of the ae911Truth group members and your own argumentation here. I think it is much more you who are challenged by the concluding remark: You must decide whether that is a rational approach.
(*) At some level the site recognizes the validity of that question because, after wasting a lot of time beating uselessly around the bush, they summarize their answer this way :

 "So, why have no 9/11 insiders blown the whistle?  In short, no effective way to reach the public, no one in a position of authority to turn to, and no assurance of adequate protection from retaliation."

— as though these claims settle the matter.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 26, 2016 4:03 PM
Reply to  proximity1

You are not a very good logician.
Let me keep this simple for you:
Some things are pertinent to some issues, and others not.
If the world is round, and everybody except Jerome believes it to be flat, is he wrong?
“But,” you object, “everybody except Jerome believes the world to be flat?”
Question: what is the relevance of your objection to the truth or untruth of what Jerome believes?

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 27, 2016 4:45 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Your analogy is really not pertinent–but I see where you’re trying to go with it.
Why didn’t you–and now, why don’t you, if you’re able, that is– simply explain to us clearly and precisely us why this question– “If the theory is true, why have there been no Whistle-blowers?” —isn’t valid and worthy of a respectable reply? It’s been fifteen years.
To at least half the nation (myself included) Edward Snowden has set a heroic example of the value of whistle-blowers. In this case, what are we to believe?—absolutely perfect command and control over every one of the (How many?) scores? hundreds? a thousand? more?–people with personal knowledge of this scandalous attack? Seriously?

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 27, 2016 6:53 PM
Reply to  proximity1

“Why didn’t you–and now, why don’t you, if you’re able, that is– simply explain to us clearly and precisely us why this question– “If the theory is true, why have there been no Whistle-blowers?” —isn’t valid and worthy of a respectable reply? It’s been fifteen years.”
Was I being disrespectful? Are you a good or bad logician? Isn’t this a legitimate question to ask and then to muse the answer out loud in one’s reply to the person about whom you asked yourself the question?
But getting back to the matter at hand: someone points out to you that you bring up an issue that is irrelevant to another issue, and you don’t see how it could be irrelevant.
All of your schematizing with ‘X and ‘Y’ drives at the proposition that any ‘Y’ can be made ‘logically’ relevant to any given ‘X.’ And my “analogy” quite simply, clearly and precisely shows you that this is bad reasoning and an assumption that is wrong to make, making you by implication a bad logician, at least in this instance since you cannot disclaim authorship of what you wrote, eh.
Then for purposes of clarification, I “contrived” an example to simply, clearly and precisely show you the irrelevance of a ‘whistleblower’ to a crime. See it below maybe a second time, eh.
So what don’t you understand? Hmm. That’s right: the logic that is both implicit and explicit in my examples are giving you some difficulty, eh.
And then to top it off, you now bring in Edward Snowden, and now the conversation is on to something else altogether: “the value of whistle-blowers.” But you were concerned with showing us that if a certain kind of crime had been committed, then accessories to the fact or some of the conspirators themselvs would have come forward and come clean, therefore, so goes your implicit reasoning, the crime cannot be of the kind we can call an “inside job.” But admissions or no admissions to any crime has no bearing on whether the crime was or was not committed, eh. Do you understand?

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 28, 2016 12:38 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

RE : “Was I being disrespectful?”
In my opinion, definitely.
E.g. :

Norman Pilon
September 26, 2016

You are not a very good logician.
Let me keep this simple for you:
Some things are pertinent to some issues, and others not.

RE :
“Are you a good or bad logician? Isn’t this a legitimate question to ask and then to muse the answer out loud in one’s reply to the person about whom you asked yourself the question?”
You hadn’t asked a question. (See the citation, just above.)
But, to answer this one, I’m not adept at formal symbolic logic, the use of symbolic logical operators to write true and false statements. But I think I’m reasonably adept at the informal use of logic in everyday practical reasoning and, as far as I’m able to see so far from your comments in this site, i’m significantly better at that than you are.
I’ve asked you twice now–the last time expressly–to simply explain in ordinary language …”why don’t you, if you’re able, that is– simply explain to us clearly and precisely us why this question– “If the theory is true, why have there been no Whistle-blowers?” —isn’t valid and worthy of a respectable reply? ”
And you’re still avoiding doing that. My conclusion, then, is that you’re unable to. But you’re still welcome to explain it if you can.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 28, 2016 1:42 PM
Reply to  proximity1

The argument that the lawyer is making is that the official story may be false irrespective of whether or not a whistleblower ever comes forward to contradict the official story. Is this simple enough for you? There is nothing illogical about this statement. Do you understand?

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 28, 2016 12:49 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

“Do you understand?”
Yes, indeed I do. How about you?
Do you share the view that the events were an example of a cover-up? If so, doesn’t that imply in some way or another, partly or wholly, “an inside-job”?
I have other questions–if you’re interested–
I’d like to hear you present your opinion on these questions:
1) How many currently-active people do you estimate there are with direct personal knowledge
of the plan or its cover-up? How many originally had direct knowledge?
2) Were the hijacked planes a convenient coincidence — were the explosives planted to one day and left to be available for demolition at a suitable occasion? Or were the dates of hijacking and demolition coordinated?
3) Why should it matter very much or at all that the Towers were completely demolished in the attack–what is essentially changed in any similar scenario in which they’re struck, suffer ectreme damage, causing many deaths, but do not collapse? In other words, what is the supposed tactical or strategic difference in the value of the attack which causes the same deaths–or more–but does not level the site struck? (Note: the Pentagon was not demolished by planted explosives.)

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 28, 2016 1:51 PM
Reply to  proximity1

You think you understand, but you obviously don’t. I do indeed believe there is a cover-up afoot and by implication something that we can call an “inside-jop.” That no whistleblowers have come forward, other than the many hundreds of eye witnesses who know they heard and saw explosions, is immaterial to the ‘fact.’ That you insist on this point as somehow or other being the ‘test’ that ‘proves’ anything about the truth of the official story, demonstrates obtuseness. Oh, am I being disrespectful? Only if you are obtuse.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 26, 2016 4:19 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Another variant of your objection, just to be clear:
A man is found with a bullet through his head, his wallet has been discarded empty beside his body, and later it is established that the empty shell casing matches perfectly the caliber of the bullet retrieved from inside his skull. Forensic experts declare that he was murdered. Then you come along fifteen years after these established fact and object that it could not have been murder because no one has yet come forth to admit to the crime.
Can you spot the “logical” error?

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 27, 2016 4:54 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

What I “spot” there is a laughably contrived and inapt scenario that is in no way analagous to the circumstances we’re treating here. Your gambit is typical of those who argue your point of view.
It’s agreed by all that a crime was committed, and, yes, that the crime involved a conspiracy–the hijackers constituted a genuine conspiracy. There was zero logical need that it have involved any insider cover-up in order to be planned and carried out.
Try and discuss the issue without introducing ridiculous and inapt pseudo-analogies, would you? And please see my as-yet-unanswered query you.

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 27, 2016 4:57 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

correction : “analogous”

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 27, 2016 6:17 PM
Reply to  proximity1

variant: a form or version of something that differs in some respect from other forms of the same thing or from a standard.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 27, 2016 6:26 PM
Reply to  proximity1

correction: “inept”

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 28, 2016 12:42 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Norman Pilon
September 27, 2016
correction: “inept”

LOL! Is that a correction of my use of “inapt”?

inapt
adjective in·apt \(ˌ)i-ˈnapt\
Popularity: Bottom 40% of words
Simple Definition of inapt
: not appropriate or suitable : not apt
Source: Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 28, 2016 2:02 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Inept works nicely, but inapt may be less inept than inapt.

ultra909
ultra909
Sep 25, 2016 9:57 AM

Re-light my Fryer!
Man, you are motivated – I’ll give you that.
So, you want to talk about probability. Very well, I’ll bite.
Do you – or do you not – accept that no steel-framed concrete buildings had seen a total collapse due to fire alone anywhere else in the world, ever before September 11, 2001?
I’ll give you a helpful document link at this point – commissioned by NIST, no less!
http://www.jensenhughes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/White_Paper_Historical_Survey_Building_Collapse_NIST_JBeitel-NIwankiw_OCT-2006.pdf
Lo and behold, this entirely new and unknown phenomenon occurs not once, not twice, but three times, all in one day, we are asked to believe.
Two of the buildings were hit by impacts they were designed to withstand (if you count a fully-laden Boeing 707 as equivalent, the largest airliner back in the day); the third was barely hit by anything at all.
What, my dearest Jerome, do you estimate, is the probability of that?

DavidKNZ
DavidKNZ
Sep 25, 2016 9:48 PM
Reply to  ultra909

Ultra909:
I think your notion of using probability arguments with Jerome Fryer has itself a very low probability of a rational outcome.
You see. J Fryer has stated elsewhere he is a Christian, which means at some deep level he has already signed up for improbable beliefs
Historically, these begin with the first recorded instance of failure of the abstainance method.
They progress to the setting aside of the laws of physics (walking on water), the laws of nutrition (Feeding the 5K), and the laws of medicine ( long dead Lazarus).
They then record the failure of the planned ‘death by nailing’ an event that, it is claimed is unique, supernatural and has never recurred.
So the probability of each of these apparently non repeatable events is low; the probability of them combined is vanishingly small.
Even worse, the followers of this improbable belief system have a distinct and sometimes fanatical tendency to try and ‘convert’ others to these beliefs.
This seems to be a sort of ‘safety in numbers’ scheme designed to buttress up their deep seated uncertainties.
Which is what seems to be playing out in this thread No??

DavidKNZ
DavidKNZ
Sep 25, 2016 10:06 PM
Reply to  ultra909

Oh, and before I get carted off the the nearest cross, I should state that there
are some who call themselves Christian that do enquire deeply on this matter
For example David Ray Griffin.
He is an original thinker, distinguishing himself in theology as well as
delving into modern physics
He has written a book: Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11
ISBN-13: 978-0-664-23117-0 – available from Amazon
which details the events, concludes that the ‘official story’ is at best incomplete,
at worst a calculated deception.
He then goes on to consider what followed on from 9/11, which from his POV, he
considers ‘demonic’ or ‘evil’
Considering that ‘Christian’ George Bush went on to cause the deaths of
a million Iraqis, its not a charge the ‘exceptional nation’ can dismiss lightly

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 26, 2016 2:08 PM
Reply to  DavidKNZ

Ha! How long did it take you to realise that you’d thrown the ‘good’ Dr Griffen under the bus?
😀

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 26, 2016 2:22 PM
Reply to  ultra909

“What, my dearest Jerome, do you estimate, is the probability of that?”
100%
If an event occurs, then the probability of that event having occurred is 100%. What you have there is a tautology of sorts.
Note that Arup believe that the towers would have collapsed solely due to a large fire. In other words: they were flawed in design. You will be relieved to know, no doubt, that these were unique designs — there aren’t other ‘tube around a core’ design towers ready to catch fire and collapse.
WTC 7 was another unique situation, where they built a forty-seven story building on top of, and surrounding, an existing building — requiring some design decisions that proved to be a bad idea. It probably would have been fine if either: a) it had not been near one of the towers, and got hit by debris and set on fire; or b) they were able to successfully fight the fires that developed, instead of deciding to give up (due in large part to lack of sufficient water supply, and partly not wanting to risk yet more firefighters deaths) and let the building burn out.
I also estimate the probability of thermite or other explosives having been placed in any of these buildings to be zero. (Plus or minus zero, with a 100% confidence interval, no k factor determination. Not strictly correct, in metrology terms, but then this isn’t a measurement. 🙂 )

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 4:26 AM

This is a short (6:26) piece that covers NIST’s process for building models for the fires in the WTC towers:
https://youtu.be/aLoNG18NElQ
Note that they do physical tests (observe the part where they are burning a dummy office workstation load-out) that are carefully monitored. The models are then calibrated to produce the same (or nearly same) results that they found doing these physical tests. This is what is done to ensure that the model is as correct as possible.
The NIST documents explain this process, but the import of it seems to be eluding a lot of people.

Nick
Nick
Sep 25, 2016 9:41 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

“Nearly the same results”
“Correct as possible”
I wonder what you would have said Jerome if any of us lunatic patients had used these phrases?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 29, 2016 11:43 AM
Reply to  Nick

It would indicate that you understood that, in the real world (not the world of pure imagination), it is almost impossible to be certain of anything where a complex physical process is involved. (Consider climate modelling. It is far from perfect, but the prediction of global heating is still being proven correct.)
All science involves probabilities. The probability of fire being the cause of collapse of all three ‘suspect’ buildings in the WTC complex is very high (there being no other obvious contender, aside from the serious fires and impact damage in the spcase of the towers). The probability of thermite or other explosives is effectively zero.
Models do not have to be perfect to prove a hypothesis to be probable. Remember that Arup dud their own modelling and tests, independent of NIST, and concluded that a severe fire alone could have collapsed the towers. (Their argument is that NIST need not have factored in the aircraft impact and fuel load. Once the buildings were ablaze on multiple floors they were doomed to fail.)

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 24, 2016 2:38 PM

I found a question which I wondered about in the “ae911truth” sites FAQ –as follows
FAQ #12: Where are the 9/11 Whistleblowers?

Written by Dennis McMahon, J.D. L.L.M.,   
Wednesday, 01 May 2013 00:03
with contributing editor Eli Rika
“Many of those who cannot accept the scientific evidence that refutes the official story of the collapse of the three WTC towers on 9/11/2001 argue, “If 9/11 was an inside operation, surely at least one whistleblower would have come forward by now. You couldn’t keep something like that secret.” While at first blush this argument might seem to be logical, closer examination shows that it makes no sense. Since scientific evidence has clearly shown that the official explanation for the destruction of the WTC skyscrapers cannot be true, the theory that the official story must be true because there have been “no 9/11 whistleblowers” is entirely specious.”

Now, I invite the interested reader to read carefully just that much (of a longer reply) and then find the logical error(s). If you cannot, then I submit that you do not belong in this “debate.” Note, by the way, that the author cited supposedly holds these degrees : ” J.D. L.L.M.” They did not save him from the howler of a logical error on display here. This is just one of any number of examples of why these people are “out to see” on this matter and I cannot take them or their “arguments” seriously.
[edited for typo – OffG ed]

Admin
Admin
Sep 24, 2016 2:42 PM
Reply to  proximity1

If science proves a fact to be true no amount of subjective opinion about how believable it is has any relevance. That’s the point.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 3:05 PM
Reply to  Admin

Facts are what science collects then uses to posit hypotheses. Any hypothesis that isn’t able to be disproven becomes the accepted theory. Theory changes over time, usually.
[edited for content-free repeat-trolling – OffG ed]
If there were serious problems in the consensus view they would have been found. Arup, for example, did their own analysis and believe that the WTC towers would have collapsed from a large, multi-floor, fire alone. If Arup had found that the fires couldn’t bring the buildings down, then that would have been interesting to people outside of insurers and architects.

Admin
Admin
Sep 24, 2016 3:15 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Note that your comment is not a reply or rebuttal of the point being made, which stands as self-evidently true. If a fact is scientifically proven then subjective opinions about its probability are irrelevant.
If you a priori reject all the evidence from one side as being inadmissible for some reason then of course you will find no evidence to oppose your view. You must decide whether this is a rational approach.
NB – any repeat unsourced claims of failure to understand, repeat claims of lack of evidence coupled with repeat refusal to address any evidence presented you, and repeat statements of opinions you have previously been forced to retract is now being regarded as trolling.

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 26, 2016 3:30 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Dear Admin.,
I do make frequent typographical errors and am grateful for their correction. E.g. where I have
‘ “ae911truth” site’ — “site” should have been the possessive form, “site’s”.
Did I actually type “out to see” rather than my intended, “out to sea“?– or is it this to which the ‘Edited for typo’ refers? My expression is derived from “at sea,” a metaphorical expression.
“(all) at sea (about something)
Fig. to be confused; to be lost and bewildered. (Alludes to being lost at sea.) When it comes to higher math, John is totally at sea.

Admin
Admin
Sep 29, 2016 12:16 PM
Reply to  proximity1

your blockquotes were broken.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 10:24 AM

Article: “Why the ‘9/11 Truth’ movement endures 15 years later”.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/september-2001-truther-conspiracy-theory-1.3756431
What I find the most unfortunate about this ‘truther’ stuff is this sort of problem, where people are throwing their lives away chasing phantoms.
Arguing about some carefully edited YouTube videos or calling each other names based on failing to comprehend technical documents is all fun and games, but there is a serious impact from this sort of lunacy on some people.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 24, 2016 11:13 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Just one question.
Do you think it’s woo to want NIST to release its collapse models?

Nick
Nick
Sep 24, 2016 12:13 PM

Indeed. Speaking as a deluded, woo-filled truther nut with serious sociopathic tendencies, I’d love to have the opportunity to completely fail to understand that particular technical document.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 2:47 PM
Reply to  Nick

[edited for content-free trolling – OffG ed]

Nick
Nick
Sep 25, 2016 12:18 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

So that’s pedantry added to your repertoire Jerome. Those ISF tutorials are working their magic.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 3:45 AM
Reply to  Nick

It isn’t pedantry to point out the technical issues that you’d face, or point out that you should try to understand what the documents you do have full access to right now actually present.
(Nor is it “content-free trolling”.)

Nick
Nick
Sep 25, 2016 11:10 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Your phrase ‘try to understand’ is presumptuous, loaded and has the whiff of ISF ad hom condescension.
Anyway, not only did NIST not release its modelling workings, but they made them technologically inaccessible to vast numbers of their potential audience. And all with public funds.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 2:41 PM

I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t be released. The non-release isn’t NIST’s decision, by the way.
My guess is that they are more concerned about random people doing random things with the data and producing vast amounts more nonsense. Consider how many people claim to be able to find flaws and evidence of fraud in the explanations of the data used for climate change models.
[edited for fact-free trolling, you have been repeatedly warned Jerome – OffG ed]

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 24, 2016 2:55 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

OK, thank you – so to be clear you DON’T think it’s woo to ask for the NIST models to be released?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 3:09 PM

Ask the relevant authorities.
You do understand that the data would have to be used in the commercial software packages required for it? That it won’t necessarily be ‘user friendly’ to use? That you require a significant amount of computing power to use it?
In principle, as it was paid for out of taxpayer funds, it should be made available unless a good reason is given.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 24, 2016 3:19 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

“In principle, as it was paid for out of taxpayer funds, it should be made available unless a good reason is given.”
Thank you. Second question. Is it woo to question any aspect of the NIST report?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 3:50 AM

You would have to explain what you mean by “question”.
If you mean make an unsupported assertion, or an assertion based on either misunderstanding or deliberate distortion, then that would indeed be woo.
Arup, for one example, do criticise the NIST report on the basis that they believe that their modelling indicates that the fires alone would have brought the towers down — that they were fatally flawed in design. (In this case, they believe that the fire-proofing was inadequate, so it wasn’t necessary for the jet impacts to have knocked a lot of it free, as NIST thinks was likely.)

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 24, 2016 1:28 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

“Arguing about some carefully edited YouTube videos or calling each other names based on failing to comprehend technical documents is all fun and games, but there is a serious impact from this sort of lunacy on some people.”

That’s absolutely right Jerome … have you had a look in the mirror lately?
It is deplorable that you cite this vile piece of presstitute guff in support of your argument that you’re concerned that, because of “this ‘truther’ stuff … people are throwing their lives away chasing phantoms”.
The article focuses on Robert McIlvaine, who tragically lost his son in the 9/11 events, and who does not believe the official story. His life has been turned upside down by the nature of his loss and his determination to find the truth of what happened. You, and others like you, condescendingly and cruelly characterise Mr McIlvaine as a sad, lost, ‘Truther’ who should just accept the government line and move on. The article you cite does a similar job, implicitly and despicably associating people who have very good reasons to doubt the official story with others “that speculate about the moon landing” and “the Hollow Earth hypothesis” and other ‘conspiracy theorists’, as well as “raging anti-Semite[s]” and being members of communities engaging in ‘pseudo-science’.
The problem with trying to sideline and dis-empower Robert McIlvaine and like minded people is that there are very many of them. According to a 2006 poll by the New York Times and CBS News, 53% respondents thought the Bush administration was hiding something, and 28% per cent believed it was lying. Ten years later, it’s likely that those percentages have grown, and if they are extrapolated across the USA population we are talking about very big numbers of people indeed.
So there are probably many millions of people in the USA alone (let alone the rest of the world) who see abundant evidence to suggest that the facts about the 9/11 events have not been properly told, let alone properly investigated, and who therefore want another investigation. You choose to call such people by derogatory names such as ‘Truthers’, ‘Conspiracy loons’, and the like. If, wanting another investigation in the circumstances makes me a ‘Truther’ in your eyes, then I wear the label with pride.
But the logical converse of that position is this: you are someone who is (presumably) capable of comprehending the glaring anomalies, fallacies, problems and generally inadequately explained factors associated with the whole official 9/11 narrative as they have been explained here and elsewhere, and yet, even in the face of all that evidence, you claim there is no need for a new investigation. Well, that makes you an ‘Anti-Truther’, or a ‘person who is satisfied with non-truth, or partial truth’ about 9/11. I reckon that makes you a person who is ‘Pro-non-truth’ or ‘Pro-liar’. But my favourites so far are:
Credulist – (A word I just made up to mean someone who is credulous – after all ‘Truther is a made-up word too)
Obscurantist:
Def. – A practitioner of obscurantism; an obscurant
Obscurant ‎(plural Obscurants)
Def.
1. One who acts to confound or obfuscate; an obscurantist.
2. A person who seeks to prevent or hinder enquiry and the advancement of knowledge or wisdom; an agent of endarkenment.
3. An opposer of lucidity and transparency in the political and intellectual spheres.
I’m going to go with ‘Obscurant(s)’ – I reckon it describes you and your mates from ISF and their ilk to an absolute T.
But take your pick from the above. I hope you wear your choice with pride.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 2:44 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

“So there are probably many millions of people in the USA alone (let alone the rest of the world) who see abundant evidence to suggest that the facts about the 9/11 events have not been properly told, let alone properly investigated, and who therefore want another investigation.”
[edited for content-free trolling – OffG ed.]

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 8:30 PM

Just so that no one misses this:
@ john miller, September 21, 2016, (https://off-guardian.org/2016/09/07/on-the-physics-of-high-rise-building-collapses/comment-page-1/)
Alaska University model by PROF.Hulsey has apparently shown that WTC7 could NOT have collapsed due to FIRE:
Here are the credentials of an absolute duffer, unlike you Mr. John miller the engineer-cum-pilot:
Leroy Hulsey
Department Chair, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor, Ph.D., P. E., S.E., Civil Engineering
(907) 474-7816
Duckering 243B
[email protected]
http://cem.uaf.edu/cee/people/leroy-hulsey.aspx
I mention Hulsey only because he corroborates everything that you glibly assert, Mr. john miller the engineer-cum-pilot, if what you assert is being asserted with your tongue through your cheek, eh:
A) To save yourself some time, start @ 29 minutes and listen carefully, contra NIST:
WTC 7 Evaluation Finds: Fire DID NOT Cause the Collapse of WTC 7

B) To save yourself some time, start @ 14 minutes and listen carefully, contra NIST:
Attorneys Are Told: “Possibility of WTC 7 Collapsing Due to Fire is ZERO”

C) To save yourself some time, start @ 29 minutes and listen carefully, contra NIST:
WTC 7 Evaluation Finds: Fire DID NOT Cause the Collapse of WTC 7

Because, eh, Mr. john miller the engineer-cum-pilot, “no newspaper will team with these clowns [i.e., Steven Jones, Robert Korol, Anthony Szamboti, andTed Walter], they have no evidence, no proof,” and they have no evidence, no proof, because you say so, eh, Mr. john miller the engineer-cum-pilot.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 9:13 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

And merely to demonstrate how long on accusations and short on “facts” Kevin Ryan always is, what was his estimate, again, of how much expansion NIST could possibly have gotten out the girders it said initiated the collapse of WTC7?
“In any case, although NIST does not state it clearly in the new report, a 575 °C increase in temperature would have caused the girder end of the beams to experience a maximum of 2.2 inches of deflection.”
http://911review.com/articles/ryan/NIST_WTC7.html
And what did Leroy Hulsey et al. find: both their models calculated a net expansion of LESS than, not 2.2 inches of deflection, but 2 inches! (See the second video in my reply “@ john miller, September 21, 2016, (https://off-guardian.org/2016/09/07/on-the-physics-of-high-rise-building-collapses/comment-page-1/),” and start your viewing @ 11 minutes.)
Do not trust anything Kevin Ryan writes and says if you are a “bunker,” because, of course, he is always — I don’t know how he does it — 100% accurate in everything he does and says.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 12:40 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Discussed in the ISF forums here:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=311698
Hulsey proves a negative, apparently. You’d think that overturning the scientific method would be bigger ‘news’.
Meanwhile, in the real world, there are still no professional scientific or engineering bodies that believe anything more than fire was required.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 24, 2016 10:10 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Good morning Jerome,
I had a look at your link to ISF and if, by ‘discussion’, you mean such gems as this contribution from a certain Mr ‘beachnut’ …

“I said he sounded like a nutcase woo 9/11 truth nut; and he is.
You don’t do a paper to show someone wrong, you do a paper to show something. When fire was the only element besides WTC 7, it was fire. Hulsey is another failed nut, he works and teaches.
Okay, maybe he is out for more money and knows Gage’s fringe group is only good for funding, thus he has no morals.
Hulsey; Nuts, or no scruples?
Anyone tell the university they have a dumber than dirt professor who lies about 911, who has no evidence it was not fire… ”

… Then I suggest you review your definition of ‘discussion’.
In addition, you seems to have trouble understanding the scientific method, as well as the application of logic re problem solving. Nothing is being ‘overturned’ here in the sense that you mean it, except NIST’s findings regarding the initiation of their fire-induced collapse scenario.
Watch the videos posted by Norman Pilon, along with his comments (and mine below) regarding the details of Prof Hulsey’s work and his conclusions about the possibility of WTC7 collapsing because of fire. When asked what the probability was, on a scale of 0 to 100, that the building collapsed due to fire, he gave a simple one word answer, “Zero”.
Prof Hulsey is highly qualified and experienced and is a acknowledged expert in the fields of Civil and Structural Engineering, as well as in mathematical modelling using state-of-art methods in finite element, finite difference and theoretical solid mechanics.
But perhaps you think you know more than him about the subject, eh?

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 24, 2016 12:59 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

I think it’s becoming pretty obvious Jerome doesn’t read the links provided or any of the “truther” science papers or articles. This is why he can’t respond to any actual data or points. He just searches on ISF for some “rebuttals”, however weak, and posts them here. I think that’s why he seems so impervious. He genuinely does not know how useless the ISF responses are because he hasn’t read the articles they’re responding to. ISF says they are nothing but “woo” and he takes their word for it, probably because they reassure him by saying what he wants to hear. if he starts reading the “truther” science he might begin to realise they have valid points. That’s the only explanation I can find for his behaviour short of him being a troll.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 3:56 AM

[edited for repeat trolling and unsourced claims that have already been refuted – OffG ed]
What else is there to say? Do you expect me to read and critique every piece of ‘truther’ woo?
If you want to debate this properly, you’ll have to go somewhere where a real debate can take place. My suggestion is the ISF forums precisely because that seems to be where the ‘truthers’ are taking their latest ‘science’ and other material that they’re using to support their case.
NOTE FROM ADMIN: if you don’t want to debate, you are admitting your purpose here is simply to troll. Engage with other commenters on the science being discussed or stop commenting; Do NOT reply to this note

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 24, 2016 8:21 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Good morning Norman (well, its morning here in the UK),
I watched these videos yesterday – very interesting. Prof Hulsey and his team appear to have modelled the WTC7 building very carefully and accurately, and it seems they’ve done so more carefully than NIST. They conclude that NIST was incorrect in deciding that the floor beams expanded sufficiently to push the girder off its seat and thereby ‘initiate’ collapse. The floor beam losing its connection to column #79 is the crucial step which leads to the rest of NIST’s ‘progressive collapse’ scenario.
Hulsey shows that NIST artificially assumed stiffness in certain parts of the floor structure in order to produce the required elongation of the beams through thermal expansion, sufficient to dislodge the girder. This is similar to heating a steel rod which is constrained at one end only, thereby ensuring that all the displacement through thermal expansion occurs at the unconstrained end. Applying such an artificial constraint to the floor beams is clearly a nonsense because it does not accurately model the real structure of WTC7.
The Hulsey team’s conclusion is that, when the building is properly modelled, the beams cannot force the girder off its seat on column #79 and therefore the progressive collapse scenario is literally a non-starter.
It is further evidence that NIST seems to have tried to ‘fit the facts’ around a pre-determined conclusion.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 24, 2016 3:32 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

Good morning, to you, too, CloudSlicer,
“Hulsey shows that NIST artificially assumed stiffness in certain parts of the floor structure in order to produce the required elongation of the beams through thermal expansion, sufficient to dislodge the girder. This is similar to heating a steel rod which is constrained at one end only, thereby ensuring that all the displacement through thermal expansion occurs at the unconstrained end. Applying such an artificial constraint to the floor beams is clearly a nonsense because it does not accurately model the real structure of WTC7.”
Quite ritht. In fact, apart from all the mechanical elements that NIST simply ignores in its modeling of WTC 7, this is the crux of their deception and what Hulsey underscores: if you have an elongated piece of steel, like a girder, and it is “rigidly fixed” at one end and not at the other, the ‘movement’ of the entire expansion of the steel is all in the direction of the end that is “not fixed” or that allows for ‘movement.’
And Hulsey proves that that is how NIST models the whole of WTC7, first by bringing your attention to the floor plan of floor 13 — ( @ 17 minutes to roughly 22 minutes of the first video above and titled “WTC 7 Evaluation Finds: Fire DID NOT Cause the Collapse of WTC 7”) — to point out that NIST purposely leaves more than half of the floor area without what he calls “springs,” that it is to say, without properly modeled ‘joint’ or ‘connection’ substitutes, thereby creating a scenario whereby the girders are effectively modeled as being fixed (or more rigid) at one end and free to expand at the other.
It is in this way that NIST ensured that “all” of the girder’s expansion must happen at the ‘free end,’ pushing, so to speak, against the “fixed end,” thereby in their model, finding the necessary “anchor point” to unseat the intended and purposely targeted column. Ironically, because this is how they had to model WTC7 to reach their predetermined conclusion, when they run their animated version, the movement of the overall collapse is not anything like what was actually observed . . .
Once this work gets peer-reviewed and ends up as a respectable and legitimate area of academic research, the “investigating team of NIST” (sic) will be exposed in the gross misconduct of their so called investigation. I can’t imagine how comfortable they must be in their skins with Hulsey at their heels . . . 🙂

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 24, 2016 6:59 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

“Quite ritht. In fact, apart from all the mechanical elements that NIST simply ignores in its modeling of WTC 7, this is the crux of their deception and what Hulsey underscores …”
Exactly so. They clearly seem to have fixed their model to reach their predetermined conclusion. The extent of the deception and sham inherent in the NIST and 9/11 Commission reports is staggering and I live in hope that gradually it will be exposed. Such activities can only be carried out in order to cover up something appalling from the public gaze, for whatever reason, and the stakes are high.
I am pretty sure that the powerful actors who were involved in the enormous crime of 9/11 will do their best to contain and/or discredit Hulsey’s work as soon as possible. They have done a good job so far in doing this to the whole 9/11 truth movement for the past 15 years, ably abetted by a compliant MSM and ‘journalists’ not worthy of the title, and they’re not going to stop any time soon. We can only soldier on in the hope that more cracks appear in their edifice of lies and illusions, and that the whole lot will eventually come tumbling down – precipitating a sort of ‘collapsing Establishment’ version of the collapse of a certain well known (ex)building.
Good luck to you in the battles ahead! 🙂

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 24, 2016 9:37 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

Aye! And right back at you with the best of luck!
This scene, the way that things are, needs to be gotten beyond. It is comforting to know that one is not alone in one’s perception that things have to change, and more so to know that there are a lot of sharper brains out there even more aware and articulate than oneself doing their part. Quite encouraging. Delighted to have made your acquaintance, CloudSlicer. The voice is what matters.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 12:27 PM

This is an older post from the ‘skeptic’ sub-reddit concerning the NIST report on WTC 7: “A compilation of Scientific Literature that Directly Cites to and Support’s NIST’s WTC 7 report’s methodologies and conclusions”.
https://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/294k95/compilation_of_scientific_literature_that/
The summary:

In short, the support for NIST’s WTC 7 conclusions is incredibly extensive, robust, and nearly universal among actual structural engineers. In contrast, there are ZERO peer reviewed critiques of NIST’s WTC 7 report, ZERO PhD structural engineers on record supporting an alternative collapse hypothesis, and ZERO high-rise specialized structural engineers with any level of degree on record supporting an alternative hypothesis. (For example, there are less than 50 members of ae911truth who claim to be structural engineers, none of them claim to be high-rise experts, none of them have PhDs, and less than half of them even have masters degrees: http://www.ae911truth.org/signatures/ae.html.) The support for NIST’s WTC 7 report’s methodologies and conclusions is thus overwhelming among those qualified to truly evaluated it. If that isn’t a scientific consensus, I don’t know what one is.

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 23, 2016 1:33 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

You realise the summary is data-free argument from authority of course?
Did you read any of the links? Do you wanna talk about them? I’m game if you are. But if you’re just gonna say something science-free and then run away when it’s pointed out you are making no sense then forget it.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 12:52 AM
Reply to  Loop Garou

On the one hand you have a hodge-pudge of ‘truthers’, most with no background in science and engineering, willing to swallow assertions such as “controlled demolition” in the absence of the expected sounds (let alone the myriad problems with installing and triggering suitable devices).
On the other hand we have institutions such as NIST, with technical experts in the relevant fields, producing reports that are not challenged by anyprofessional scientific or engineering body, anywhere in the world.
This is a suckers vs. science ‘debate’.
You seem like a sucker to me, so far, Loop. Make a concise argument for something if you want to debate that something. If the argument is based on ignorance, and/or woo from some website that you found convincingly ‘sciencey’, then I’m going laugh at you, but I’ll try to respond in any case.
NOTE FROM ADMIN: you have repeatedly been presented with arguments, and even quite well-sorced apparent facts, which you have chosen to ignore. You have been forced to concede points and then pretend not to have conceded them. You make statements and when those statement are refuted you retire from the conversation only to return somewhere else to make the same statements again, thus seeding endless and circular pseudo-debate. Your sole argument seems to be that “truthers” are all idiots and that questioning any aspect of the NIST report is “woo.” You produce nothing to back up this assertion, yet refuse to modify it even slightly, or even to concede the most qualified doubts about the official version have merit.
In short you are currently not debating, you are trolling. Please engage with what is being said to you rather than simply repeating a handful of mantras and ad hom or posting large collections of links you then refuse to debate. Try to avoid libellous innuendo and focus on the issues rather than the people.

vectorands
vectorands
Sep 24, 2016 2:08 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Now that Architects and Engineers for 9/11 truth has over 2,500 architects and engineers who have reviewed the evidence and come to the conclusion the the NIST report is lacking, your attempt to characterize the truth as a hodge-podge of loonies with no scientific of engineering background is untenable.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 3:24 AM
Reply to  vectorands

Are they all architects and engineers, or are you simply assuming that?
How many (actual) architects and engineers are there in the US?
Find those two facts out, then evaluate your claim.

Doug Colwell
Doug Colwell
Sep 24, 2016 5:51 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Jerome, I salute you. Your tenacity is to be admired.
Do I remember correctly that you run a lab? If so would you hire anyone who you knew questioned NIST? Can you see how that might lead many to censor their questions? A great many of us do not feel secure economically.
I am not an expert, but it seems to me there enough “loose ends” for a genuinely independant inquiry to look into.
By the way I do see your point about the thermal expansion models.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 8:15 AM
Reply to  Doug Colwell

“Do I remember correctly that you run a lab?”
Yes, however this is only two technical staff and the owner. Metrology — electrical and torque calibration work.
“If so would you hire anyone who you knew questioned NIST? Can you see how that might lead many to censor their questions? A great many of us do not feel secure economically.”
That would be unlikely to come up in a job interview. Different field.
Provided it doesn’t have any effect on the work, then there is no reason to discriminate based on belief in something irrational.
I am a Christian, and religion is not rational (in terms of scientific testability). That does not affect my work.
The only reservation I would have would be if the failure to correctly ‘connect the dots’ indicated a failure of reasoning more generally. With the work my lab does, that shouldn’t be a problem.
If you were applying for a job at, for example, our national standards lab, however — definitely don’t bring up ‘conspiracy theory’ stuff unless asked.

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 24, 2016 2:09 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) maintains data on 17 specialty occupations within engineering including: aerospace, agricultural, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer hardware, electrical, electronics (except computers), environmental, health and safety (except mining), industrial, marine engineering and naval architecture, materials, mechanical, mining and geological, nuclear, and petroleum. However, even this list is not comprehensive and the BLS reports the remaining specialties together under “all others.”[1]
Civil, mechanical, industrial, and electrical engineering were the four largest specialty occupations in 2013, representing a combined 60 percent of all engineering employment. Of the approximate 1.5 million engineers employed in 2013, an estimated 262,170 were civil engineers, 258,630 were mechanical engineers, 230,580 were industrial engineers, and 168,100 worked as electrical engineers. Forty percent of engineers worked in the remaining 14 occupational groups, including those under the catchall “all other.”
Source : http://dpeaflcio.org/professionals/professionals-in-the-workplace/scientists-and-engineers/
[1] http://dpeaflcio.org/professionals/professionals-in-the-workplace/scientists-and-engineers/#_edn1
[ 1600 architects and engineers constitutes only 0.1066667 % of the engineers (architects not included) in the 2013 workforce (as indicated by the source noted above). ]

Admin
Admin
Sep 24, 2016 2:26 PM
Reply to  proximity1

The point that 2,000 architects and engineeers publicly question the NIST report is not an argument from consensus or supposed majority-view, it’s merely pointing out the falsehood in the oft-made claim that only non-scientists and conspiracy loons question NIST.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 4:02 AM
Reply to  Admin

Only poor scientists would dismiss NIST on the basis that they’re incompetent or somehow ‘bought off’. The scientific approach would be to prove their incompetence, or somehow find evidence for their deliberately creating a fraud.
It is the ‘truther’ claim that “growing numbers of architects and engineers” are signing up to their project, so it is the ‘truthers’ making an argument based on numbers. (Insignificant numbers, statistically.)

Nick
Nick
Sep 24, 2016 2:26 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Historically many paradigm shifts have been the work of just one person.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 4:03 AM
Reply to  Nick

Some have been, yes.
What “paradigm shift” do you anticipate from the ‘truther’ project?

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 24, 2016 4:28 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Your statistics would only have any relevance if and only if the majority of those of whom you speak were ‘intimately’ familiar with the terms of the ‘controversy’ as being put forward by the few men and women with scientific training that have taken up the pertinent and controversial issues. Even among the people who are now members of A&E for 9/11 Truth, the majority admit to not having twigged to any ‘problems’ with the government version of what happened until they began actually “looking” at the issues.
So it is meaningless to assert that because the majority of all engineers are not up in arms over the NIST report, the Architects and Engineers who are, represent a ‘lunatic fringe.’ It may in fact be the case that in this instance it’s the majority who are ignorant, uninformed and unconcerned, and who therefore stand outside the purview of a rational and scientific take on the matter.

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 23, 2016 9:54 AM

P.S.

U.S. Govt. surveillance Programs
Pre-1978
ECHELON MINARET SHAMROCK PROMIS
Since 1978 (to 2001 only)
Upstream collection BLARNEY FAIRVIEW Main Core ThinThread Genoa
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Information_Awareness

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 23, 2016 9:41 AM

in reply to Admin:
Having read the introduction you linked, I have nothing to alter in my earlier comment. Your introduction does not impress me at all as a reply to my comments. Rather, it’s an artless dodge of the point.
I’ve challenged the pertinence of your alleged distinction between “skepticism” on one hand and something called “pseudo-skepticism” on the other. Specifically, I’ve tried to show that there is no meaningful distinction in these two as they’re actually commonly used: both involve taking up what is (at least claimed to be–sometimes, as in the present case of the 9/11 conspiracies, patently insincerely claimed to be–) a position of “doubt.” About all that you had exactly nothing in a direct response.
Instead, you asked what is the value of conflating the “lunatic” with the reasonable doubters. I ask, rather: what is the value of setting up such a specious distinction in skepticism? Briefly, your posted introduction itself is essentially a litany of innuendo directed at the usual suspects (the U.S. govt.) in which I can find no serious attempt on your part to expressly distinguish one group of these conspiracists from another. Except to admit that in principle such a distinction exists, you haven’t presented any clarification of which, in the opinion of this site’s editors, are the respectable conspiracists and which are not.
&, in reply to Nick : In my comments, “they” refers only to those who state or imply an allegation that implicates directly as knowing co-conspirators people (then) in the U.S. govt–who allege, in short, that this involves what may be called an “inside job,” — whatever their credentials or their claimed motives. ; This very obviously includes the group you tout: “ae911truth.”
I followed a link to ae9/11truth and found there, upon starting to read the page linked, the complete picture of unhinged conspiracy-thinking at its worst. The reader is led into a morass of detail which does nothing to elucidate the important issues and a very great deal to bury them in a swamp of irrelevant detail of shear-bolts and the thermal conductivity–designed, I’m convinced, to bewilder and discourage any sincere readers’ effort to see the points and evaluate their merits and demerits.
A suspicious person –of the sort these claimed 1600 architects and engineers are–could be forgiven for doing some conspiracy theorizing of his own and seeing behind these efforts the possibility of a clandestine project directed from powerful agents of a corrupt political order to sow doubt and confusion and to do precisely what the Off-G series claims to abhor: surround conspiracy theories in general–and warranted ones in particular–in a fog of disreputable nonsense which affords a marvelous cover to real conspiracies. Thus, I could imagine this group being organized and paid for by what conspiracists claim to find everywhere: another “false flag” operation. You see? Any number may play at this absurd stuff.
Rather than presenting a blizzard of irrelevant detail, a group sincerely interested in clearing up a controversy would stick to the essentials and explain concisely their compelling evidence–if they have any. It’s when such groups don’t have any that a reader finds himself confronted with what he finds at “ae911truth.” After my posting a link to the Popular Mechanics study of the conspiracy theories major claims, I was promptly informed that this study had been “debunked.”
If so, then where is the published retraction on the part of PM‘s editors and authors? Where are the earth-shaking news reports that should certainly have followed from a discrediting of so important a study of the conspiracy? You see, unlike the ae911truth group, Popular Mechanics is a group with a distinguished reputation on the line. When they’re found to have gotten something so important so badly wrong, their reputation and the stakes they have tied up in it requires them to come forward and openly admit their errors. If there’x been any serious such errors, they’d have promptly done this. “Google” “Popular Mechanics” + “retractions” and see what comes up under the heading of September 11, 2001 attacks. Nothing.
All these groups posist a hidden and sinister hand (of the U.S. govt.) in the works. In the case of the attacks of 11 Sept., this makes zero sense. What was the movtive? Who specifically was involved and why? When you have really discovered and clarified a genuine conspiracy, things fall into place and the explanation makes sense–reduces and explains rather than multiplies and raises perplexing problems in reasonability.
Unless one has and clear idea of exactly who acted and why and how they did so–which would enable us to understand, for example, precisely and clarifyingly, why these buildings rather than some others?, why these airlines and not some others?, with these departure cities and not others?, why this date and not some other? And, of course, to what end?–then, very simply, one is simply spining sheer empty speculation and sowing doubt and confusion. Anyone can do that. It adds nothing to our previous and abundantly warranted virew of the government as a corrupt oligarchic political order to allege that they also planned and carried out the 11 Sept. 2001 attacks. So what if they did? What then? What is the intended point of trying to convince people that–shock of shocks–their government can and does commit dastardly acts? We already know this. What we don’t know is whether they committed that one. We do know is that the most reasonable interpretation of all the best evidence, taken together, affords us no sane reason at all to suppose that there was any official involvement at all.
If the attacks were mounted by a secret group in the government in part to provoke fear in the public and reduce public resistance to and questioning of the government’s many clandestine ambitions–planned or already underway at the time–then it failed spectacularly.
Edward Snowden’s revelations came about after the attacks. The trends and tendencies to “Total Information Awareness” surveillance (à la Admiral John Poindexter) he exposed was well underway long before September 2001. What, exactly, are the attacks of that date supposed to have enabled that wasn’t already either underway or easily feasible? The public’s trust and faith in the government has not been heightened by the aftermath of the events; people are more suspicious and questioning than ever. And that’s not thanks to these ae911truth efforts, it’s despite them.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 10:23 AM
Reply to  proximity1

Who funds the principal ‘truther’ ringmasters? Do they make a living solely from donations and sales of bunk?

Pained Scientist
Pained Scientist
Sep 23, 2016 11:40 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

The only person I can think of who most definitely does receive income from his 9/11 work is Richard Gage. I agree that makes his position a little ambiguous, but let’s be honest no more so than those NIST scientists paid by the government for their expertise.
On the other hand I know of several people whose lies and careers have been adversely affected by questioning the official 9/11 story. I know one academic who, having lost his job, ekes a living doing home-schooling. He was offered a university teaching job after having been let go from his original post, but he was asked to sign a declaration he wouldn’t engage in any more 9/11 research. He declined and was never offered another teaching post. He’s never made this public and would hate to be named, so you can take or leave this as merely anecdotal, but he has never been accused of making money out of his 9/11 work.
Kevin Ryan was fired from Underwriters after blowing the whistle on their gross mismanagement of the real-world fire testing for NIST. His marriage also fell apart. I believe he has some other employment now, but states he has never made a penny out of his 9/11 work.
By the was is the focus on the men rather than the argument a tacit admission you have finally gotten tired of rehashing claims that have already been dealt with?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 11:50 AM

“The only person I can think of who most definitely does receive income from his 9/11 work is Richard Gage. I agree that makes his position a little ambiguous, but let’s be honest no more so than those NIST scientists paid by the government for their expertise.”
It is extremely weird that you seem to think that scientists are susceptible to bribery or blackmail. Are you also a ‘climate change sceptic’?
Do you understand how much more money can be made by pursuing something like law or marketing? It isn’t as though researchers capable enough to work for NIST or similar organisations (who must also all be corrupt, of course) are not smart enough to handle something comparatively low-brow like that.

Pained Scientist
Pained Scientist
Sep 23, 2016 12:07 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

You asked a question. I answered.
All human beings are susceptible to bribery and blackmail. But you don’t need anything so vulgar in order to keep people quiet. if you tell someone they need to avoid doing work in certain areas if they want to get promotions or keep their jobs, most people will just do as recommended because they have bills to pay and families to feed. It happens every day in every area of human life, in big and small ways

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 12:57 PM

You conflated the issue of people directly making money from pushing the ‘truther’ claims (varied as they are) with career scientists working in a prestigious national laboratory.
Those two situations don’t equate.

Pained Scientist
Pained Scientist
Sep 23, 2016 1:14 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

You asked I answered. The answer didnt’ please you, you tried to seed a diversionary argument.
Situation normal.
Diversionary argument ain’t gonna happen.
Find some data to support your vague, and of themselves diversionary, ad homs about “people (plural) making money from pushing truther claims” or stfu.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 12:59 AM

You stated yourself that Gage makes his income from the ‘truther’ woo machine. I’m asking who else has a financial interest in this, and where the money comes from.
If you don’t know, that’s fine. It might be worthwhile knowing if there are conflicts of interest or income streams coming from somewhere ‘unexpected’.
(One of the central requirements for maintaining ISO 17025 accreditation is ensuring that there are no conflicts of interest. If you are making money from selling a product, for example, then the parts of your organisation doing lab work and sakes must be shown to be managerially independent. If you can’t show that, then you can’t be accredited. There are rules for accredited labs, and no such rules for random academics.)

Admin
Admin
Sep 23, 2016 11:02 AM
Reply to  proximity1

It’s not our distinction, it’s a recognised philosophical distinction, which is explained in the provided link. But if you need anyone to explain the value of distinguishing between rational doubt and irrational conviction perhaps there is little value in further discussion.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 11:56 AM
Reply to  Admin

You need to figure out the difference between science and pseudo-science, then you might be able to figure out when you’re being bullshitted.
Just because something fits in with your prejudices it does not necessarily follow that you should accept it — especially if it seems to make no sense when viewed in totality.
But then that would be putting scepticism into practice, instead of using faux-scepticism as a pretext to boost ‘truther’ woo that fits your prejudices.

Admin
Admin
Sep 23, 2016 12:03 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Can you identify one piece of “woo” we have “boosted”?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 1:05 PM
Reply to  Admin

Start with your article exposing reading comprehension failure:
https://off-guardian.org/2016/09/17/why-did-nist-decide-wtc-steel-could-not-conduct-heat/

…This bogus assumption that steel has zero thermal conductivity not only renders the NIST report as a whole deeply suspect, it entirely nullifies even the flawed basis for its “collapse by fire” hypothesis…

Just because some ‘truther’ site asserted this ridiculous claim doesn’t make it so — it is pure truther woo, intended to fool those who don’t understand the subject, and in the case of many (such as the Off Guardian editorial team) demonstrate a desire to resist learning the truth.
Believing that NIST would somehow attempt to falsify their models, while explicitly noting their falsifications, takes a special kind of gullibility.
NOTE FROM ADMIN: The fact NIST set the thermal conductivity of the steel in (some of?) its models to zero is established fact, and, more importantly, you have admitted it yourself. Continued attempts at refuting things you have previously admitted or at pretending proven facts are still in dispute, will – regrettably – have to be regarded as trolling or intentional time-wasting.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 3:22 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

I haven’t “admitted” this — I have pointed out why it is a red herring, and does not matter.
[edited for content-free ad hom]
NOTE FROM ADMIN:
Quote from the link I provided above:
Moriarty’s Left Sock:
Are you claiming it proves:
(1) NIST did NOT set the thermal conductivity of the steel in their models to zero? Or…
(2) They DID but they were correct in doing so?

Jerome Fryer
(2) They DID but they were correct in doing so.

Do NOT attempt to seed arguments or useless debate by denying your own previous statements. That is trolling. Do NOT reply to this comment.
This discussion is over.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 4:06 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

You are genuinely unable to figure this out?
That’s an impressive ability to not understand simple stuff.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 6:39 PM
Reply to  proximity1

@ proximity1 “In reply to Admin:
A)
“Rather than presenting a blizzard of irrelevant detail, a group sincerely interested in clearing up a controversy would stick to the essentials and explain concisely their compelling evidence–if they have any.”
Okay: 1) the free fall of WTC 7 and the lateral expulsion of material from both WTC 1 & 2 ; 2) the findinds of Niels Harrite et al. Is this simple enough for you?
B)
“. . .what is the value of setting up such a specious distinction in skepticism?”
Okay: Is 1) I don’t believe that the towers were brought down simply by fire and gravity because of the “fact” that WTC7 descends for 2.5 seconds at “free fall,” you could not get a debris field as large in extent as happened in the collapses of WTC 1 & 2 if only gravity was involved, and Niels Harrit et al., a team of competent and credentialed scientists, claim to have found the residue of an explosive in the WTC dust . . . is the foregoing as a mode of skepticism more or less rational than “The NIST report is true because NIST claims to be telling the truth, so I’m skeptical of ANYTHING an organization like ‘A&E for 9/11 Truth’ has to say, even if 2600 (not 1600, but two thousand six hundred) competent professionals offer “reasons” why NIST should be doubted.”
Please do explain to me why I should not draw a distinction between the form of skepticism that example 1) offers and the form of skepticism that example 2) offers.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 5:58 AM

Here is a relatively simple example for how you can fact-check (and debunk) a ‘truther’ claim.
The claim is: there was not enough energy in the WTC towers to produce the debris seen — in particular, the clouds of dust seen.
The second part of the claim, which is obviously incorrect, is that all of the dust was produced by crushed concrete. (The buildings were full of materials such as drywall. Most people know that drywall would break down easier than concrete. But ‘truthers’ seem to be special people.)
So, this claim rests on the energy required to break down concrete. Refer to this paper:
http://www.911myths.com/WTCONC1.pdf
The example is worked using WTC 1 as that had the smaller initial amount of energy available — the smaller section of the top that fell onto floors below, and also this section pivoted significantly as it collapsed.
The energy calculated comes out to 3.36 J/g. This is the ‘mass specific energy input’ to the first concrete floor below the section that initially fell.
Next we see references noted, and a summation “these data show that significant fracturing of concrete occurs at impact energy above 0.1 J/g”.
So the answer to the assertion that there was insufficient energy available, in a rough analysis, comes down to this: is 3.36 equal to or larger than 0.1?
I’ll let the ‘truther’ science and engineering experts ponder that puzzle.

Nick
Nick
Sep 23, 2016 8:58 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Thanks for your link to Frank Greening’s paper Jerome.
Greening is a particularly interesting figure in 9/11 studies. He has authored / co-authored several well known papers, including ones with the controversial Zdenek Bazant, which involve collapse theories based on the floors above impact moving downwards as one ‘chunk’, and exerting a ‘jolt’ on the remaining floors below plane impact (as does his paper which you link to).
That particular theory has been critiqued here :-
http://www.journalof911studies.com/volume/2008/TheMissingJolt7.pdf
Anyway i digress. The most pertinent thing about Greening is that he totally skewered the members of International Skeptics Forum ( referred to as JREF in following links) and accused them of smothering science, and taking others papers (including his own) as the word of God. He now openly refutes much of the official conspiracy theory, and questions much of his own earlier work.
http://911debunkers.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/bbc-caught-fabricating-dr-greenings.html
“I’ll just leave this here”

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 10:21 AM
Reply to  Nick

So… is 3.36 equal to or larger than 0.1?
Perhaps mathematics is part of the conspiracy?

Nick
Nick
Sep 23, 2016 10:58 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Refer to the links Jerome. Greening’s workings are based on dubious observations, and he himself doubts them now.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 12:08 PM
Reply to  Nick

I’m not referring to “dubious observations” and a ‘jolt’ theory. I’m referring to the claims about energy requirements and the debris produced not matching.
If Green’s energy calculations of 3.36 J/g are even close, and his reference to the testing results is even close to correct (“these data show that significant fracturing of concrete occurs at impact energy above 0.1 J/g”), then there is no ‘missing’ energy in the system that requires another input.
(Also Green isn’t factoring in the energy from a 767 slamming into the tower, nearly full fuel tanks, and the building contents on several floors burning. Perhaps the steel framing magically wicks all of that energy away?)
You’re illustrating the ‘truther’ shuck and jive technique of trying to ignore the argument, doing some hand-waving, and trying to move to a different argument. Was that intentional, or just a learned response?

Nick
Nick
Sep 23, 2016 12:40 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

What provided the energy requirement to initiate collapse of WTC 1? The article you base your claim on relies on the top section of WTC 1 falling as one piece, thus allegedly creating the energy required to pulverise the building materials (and human bodies).
This claim has been shown to be demonstrably false, thus rendering the rest of Greening’s (or Green as you call him) calculations irrelevant.
Rather than me using ‘truther shuck’, it seems you are basing your claims on refuted studies, no doubt sourced from ISF, which even the author of the report you cite (who used to be their darling) has exposed as rather less than the scientific titans they claim to be.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 1:24 PM
Reply to  Nick

“What provided the energy requirement to initiate collapse of WTC 1?”
The fire caused by a 767 slamming into it seems a fairly strong suspect.
NIST believe it was the fire plus the structural damage from the impact. Arup seem to disagree (sort of), in coming to the conclusion that a fire alone of the scale produced would have doomed the tower to collapse.
This video is interesting:
https://youtu.be/qlYTZtkTbV4
Weird how that core that was destroyed with Harrit’s special recipe nano-thermite was still standing, eh?
Oh, wait. Perhaps they just exploded the top part, coincidentally exactly where the aircraft sliced into the building.
(Buy my new book: ‘Nano-thermite and the evil government conspiracy — third revision’. Contains twenty percent more woo!)

Nick
Nick
Sep 23, 2016 1:34 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

” ‘What provided the energy requirement to initiate collapse of WTC 1?’
The fire caused by a 767 slamming into it seems a fairly strong suspect.”
If this is all you’ve got Jerome there’s little point continuing.

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 23, 2016 2:05 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

@Jeromefryer
Another science-deficit moment by Jerome “I can do this longer than you so I win” Fryer.
Are you even trying to remain within the remit of the NIST report and/or accepted science any more? Or are you just reflexively hitting back to prevent the realization the jig is up?
You came here expecting to find science on one side and woo on the other. You didn’t realise ISF are all mouth and no pants whose credibility has even been denounced by the scientists they admire. Now you are dismayed and confused and angry because your expectations have proved to be wrong.
It’s time to give up on playing the ISF “huh, look at the loonies” game. It only works in their closed environment where reality is not admitted. Accept the fact there is genuine uncertainty in the science of 9/11, with reasonable things to be said on both sides, and you will stop making a fool of yourself and might even have valuable things to say.
At the moment it’s becoming increasingly embarrassing to watch you melt down like this in public.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 8:26 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

“Accept the fact there is genuine uncertainty in the science of 9/11, with reasonable things to be said on both sides, and you will stop making a fool of yourself and might even have valuable things to say.”
So where are these “reasonable things”? Why do the woo pushers rely on the opposite of the scientific method, where they start with a conclusion (and ‘belief’ in some form of conspiracy) then attempt to make the facts support that conclusion. Why is Hulsey, for a recent example, claiming that his model ‘disproves’ collapse due to fire, but then doesn’t back up that claim with evidence? Does he need more money?
Your argument is the exact same one made by Creationists when they claim that the Earth could be 6000 years old, and it is only evil atheist scientists with their ‘flawed’ science approach that can come up with the 4.3 billion year age.

Admin
Admin
Sep 24, 2016 10:06 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

So you’re alleging that finding problems with the NIST report and calling for a new enquiry is as irrational as believing in Creationism? Do you not think that’s a little polarised?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 25, 2016 4:13 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

You have to point to the “problems” in the NIST report, and they have to be significant enough to make some form of review worthwhile.
Merely asserting that you don’t believe something is not reasonable grounds for the government to spend millions of dollars (and who would they get to do the new report?)
There is nothing wrong with trying to prove a different hypothesis, just don’t expect that the public has to pay for it. And also don’t expect to see something different come out of such a review, as all of the private sector reviews into the attacks and building failures have agreed with NIST’s base conclusion about fire damage being the cause of failure.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 4:08 AM

@Loop Garou
I entirely agree.
I could tell from my exchange with him that he was clueless. He did — in a convoluted way that shows that he himself doesn’t understand the principles involved — allude to the observation (things can go faster than ‘g’ all when the only motive force is gravity, it happens all the time) that a lever hinged at one end and left to drop from an angle less than 90 degrees will result in an angular velocity at the other end being greater than ‘g.’
Of course, he didn’t and couldn’t put it in those terms, but that’s vaguely what he had in mind and also believes accounts for the free fall (and greater than free fall) descent of WTC7.
But angular acceleration induced by gravity is something I hadn’t ever considered or thought about until Nick produced the example, but clearly, apart from the fact that there surely were a lot of pieces of debris spinning about their axes or center’s of gravity at angular accelerations greater than ‘g,’ none of this could in any way account for the observed free fall of WTC7 across its entire width and breadth. As CloudSlicer suggests, it’s pure smoke and distraction.
At this point, I really don’t know what to think about Jerome. Good to have him around, however, because he certainly incites a lot of discussion about aspects of 9/11 that should be noted and that perhaps might not have been discussed, here, in the comment section.
If his purpose is to distract, it’s backfiring.
Otherwise, he is certainly “fixed” in his ideas in precisely the way that my West Highland White Terrier is about wanting to tussle with the occasional skunk that finds its way into our backyard. He doesn’t know when to quit, no matter how badly sprayed. I’m not making that up about the terrier, and I think I’m gonna start calling him Jerome.
Regards,
–N
BTW: you wrote a great article and your comments are always both enlightening and a delight to read.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 4:20 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

@ admin,
Is it something I’m doing, or is WordPress acting a bit weird. I’m posting replies where I think I should be posting them, but they are turning up at the top of the thread.
My apologies although it’s not my fault, eh.

Admin
Admin
Sep 23, 2016 5:07 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Yes it’s not the first time that’s happened lately. We certainly haven’t deleted any comments. I think maybe the volume of comment we get is confusing the spam software sometimes. We do check in regularly to try and rescue any non-spam that’s been swept up.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 5:12 AM
Reply to  Admin

Thank you. I thought I was having a moment as I sometimes do, but worse than usual. Phew!

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 5:59 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Have you found out what a moment frame is yet, Norman?

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 6:18 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Dear Jerome,
How are you? I’ve been waiting around all night for you. I was beginning to worry that something awful might have happened to you. But here you are in your usual fine form.
Look, I’d like to talk and talk all night. But you’ve now become a bore. As Chandler puts it in the video posted by Loop, you cannot have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even begin to comprehend the terms of the discussion or at best pretends that he doesn’t. This will be my last reply to you, Jerome. Others can take it from here if they wish, and I’m sure you will manage to get all the attention you crave and possibly more.
Milou, who I will nickname in your honor, waits downstairs for his usual dose of ‘happy talk.’ He’s always doggedly sincere and without the least pretense, a creature more intent on genuine communication than you can ever be, Jerome, although I will never know why that is, eh . . . and frankly, come to think of it, not that I really give a fuck.

DavidKNZ
DavidKNZ
Sep 23, 2016 7:24 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Hats off to Norman Pilon…..
For displaying both patience and tenacity
…over and above the call of duty
🙂

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 23, 2016 12:28 PM
Reply to  DavidKNZ

Seconded!

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 12:14 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

I just thought that: since the point about the construction of WTC 7, and the moment frame that bound the outer walls together, was a significant part of b1c1jones’ argument about the rate of collapse of the outer frame — you might bother to look into it.
Instead of grandstanding over a failure to understand the argument, like an idiot.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 24, 2016 11:47 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

How do you consider the “moment frame” to be significant? In your own words, if possible?

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 24, 2016 2:55 PM

I seriously doubt that Jerome will respond honestly to your question, even if at all, because:
a) He most likely doesn’t know what a ‘moment frame’ is or what its sigificance is.
b) He’s an Obscurant.

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 23, 2016 3:50 AM

A lot of people getting distracted by non-scientist b1c1jones’s regurgitation of non-scientist Chris Mohr’s nonsense about WTC7 falling faster than free fall.
WTC7 did NOT fall faster than free fall. NIST knows this. Every scientist who looked at NIST’s graphs knows this. The only reason Mohr claimed it did is literally because he isn’t a scientist and doesn’t know how to read data points and curves. He mistook the error fluctuations for increases and decreases of velocity! And b1c1jones, who clearly does not have even high school physics, blindly repeats these basic mistakes. David Chandler explains it better than I can here.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 4:27 AM
Reply to  Loop Garou

Dear Loop,
Did I just dream that you left me a reply, or did you? If you did, I replied to you, and you can find that reply above, which begins with “I entirely agree.” Otherwise, I’m loosing my marbles.

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 23, 2016 5:15 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

I did leave you a reply! No clue why it’s been canned.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 5:18 AM
Reply to  Loop Garou

Good. I’m not entirely insane, then.

chrisb
chrisb
Sep 22, 2016 4:20 PM

Seems like no one read the article.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 22, 2016 6:45 PM
Reply to  chrisb

Absolutely right. A tsunami of pseudoskepticism awaits the unwary traveller below.
Proceed with caution!

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 3:23 PM

Hi, everyone,
In the course of an exchange with b1c1jones from ISF, b1c1jones made the claim that the force of gravity on the surface of the earth could accelerate “levered” objects to speeds higher than free fall. I asked b1c1jones to send me a link proving the claim. “Nick” responded on his behalf and sent this link:
Falling Faster than ‘g’
http://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/presentations/falling-faster-g
The demonstration is ridiculous, of course, because a) the ball travels a vertical distance greater than the cup and b) the distance between the location of the cup on lever to the ball has been carefully chosen so that the cup rotates with the lever into the descending path of the ball. This is the sort of intellectual rigor that we find at ISF and these days, apparently, at Harvard University. Of course, the people at Harvard are not in the least mislead by this magicians trick and know perfectly well the acceleration of the end of the lever cannot and does not exceed ‘free fall’ at the surface of the Earth.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 3:37 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

I should add, as part of the analysis of the “experiment” at hand, the slope of the lever, and not merely the distance between the cup and the ball along the lever, at the moment that it is released, must also be carefully chosen. Different angles will yield different results in terms of the ball falling in the cup, that is, in terms of the distances these objects have to travel before coming to rest.

Nick
Nick
Sep 22, 2016 4:01 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

The cup is just a gimmick Norman. The upper tip of the plank nearest the ball is the bit to watch. Vertical distance between tip of plank and ball at start position versus distance ball still has to travel once same plank tip has come to rest after the fall….
http://www.science20.com/alpha_meme/falling_faster_freefall_lesson_didactics_and_critical_thinking-75385
Btw I didn’t post that on the ISF guy’s behalf, but rather independently just to add to the debate. You make a good point above but I’m not convinced 😎

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 4:15 PM
Reply to  Nick

Actually, I think I may have to eat some crow. I’m looking at this now and I’m beginning to flush with embarrassment. Good. It keeps one humble. Thank you for twigging my attention to this.

Nick
Nick
Sep 22, 2016 4:50 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

No stress, you’re still in combat mode.
For myself, I don’t quite understand how the edge of the plank falling as part of a circular motion affects things re the ball.. or for that matter how this specifically relates to WTC7’s collapse theory by the ISF guy ! He thinks the exterior of the building only fell so fast as it was dragged down by the interior?

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 5:22 PM
Reply to  Nick

Actually, I don’t think the “free fall” component of the experiment at hand has anything at all to do with the falling end of the lever, but with the “center of gravity,” the point where gravity appears to be acting on an object. I think that point on the lever as compared to that of the ball, if what is in “free fall” or accelerating at 9.8 m/s^2. Since we are dealing with a “lever arrangement,” which in my mind remains a bit of a mystery, depending on where relative to the pivot point one applies a force, different angular accelerations result at either end of the lever. We know we can move larger masses with smaller masses with the intervening mechanisms of pivots and levers, and we understand the descriptive mathematics involved. Why that should be, however, is a mystery. Anyway, I’m going to look at this some more. It is an interesting puzzle.
And yes, I don’t know how pertinent or not this is to the WTC7 collapse. Intuitively speaking, I don’t think there is much relevance. But I’ll hedge that for the moment, eh, . . . 🙂

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 22, 2016 6:27 PM
Reply to  Nick

The important point is that the board is hinged at one end (the centre of rotation) and for such an object the ‘centre of percussion’ (COP), which is 2/3 along the board from the hinged end, is the point which will accelerate at the same rate as a freely falling object, or g.
It follows that points along the board above the COP i.e. towards the free end of the board (where the ball is at rest and not fixed to the board) will accelerate at a rate greater than g.
The cup is placed between the COP and the free end of the board (and ball) such that, when the board has completely dropped and is horizontal, the cup is in a position immediately below where the ball was at rest when the board was inclined.
When the board falls, the COP (2/3 along from the hinge) falls at g, the cup falls at a rate slightly greater than g, and the ball, falling at g (therefore at a lower rate than the cup) ends up in the cup.
It’s a very neat trick.
But it has nothing at all to do with the collapse of WTC7, and it’s just an attempt by the ISF guy to confuse and muddy the waters, which is all they’re able to do really.

Nick
Nick
Sep 22, 2016 6:48 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

b1c1jones seems to be claiming that the observed partial free fall of the building was due to the resistance met by the collapsing structure being cancelled out by the downward pull of the inner collapse (I think).

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 22, 2016 7:17 PM
Reply to  Nick

I’m really not sure what b1c1jones is trying to say. It sounds like completely meaningless gobbledegook to me.
Perhaps to help clarify and stop wasting everyone’s time, he and his ISF mates could put together some diagrams with accompanying explanations to illustrate and elucidate their hypothesis and post a link here. Then we might be able to engage in some meaningful analysis. Otherwise it’s just appears to be what it probably really is: repeated attempts to raise minutiae to confuse and disrupt.
WTC7 was a controlled demolition, (as were WTC1 & WTC2), nothing else explains what was seen, heard and measured, and anyone who understands even the basics of structural mechanics, engineering, and physics will see it if they look with a dispassionate eye. The rest is just bluff and bluster.

Nick
Nick
Sep 22, 2016 8:28 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

It would indeed be great to see his workings, as his theory (if I understand it) is rather more than minutiae.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 9:40 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

Beautifully explained. Thank you.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 23, 2016 12:19 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

You’re welcome.
This is what cooperative debate should be about – helping each other understand important topics and making some progress – instead of having to engage in time-consuming, meaningless to-and-fro with people who seem to have no real interest in clarifying anything. It’s clear that such people have their own pre-determined agenda to follow, and the whole thing descends into a kind of ‘propaganda war’. Which is what the official narrative is anyway – pure propaganda, and an absolute sham. It’s proponents have a lot of helpers here in these threads, but it won’t be enough. There is a growing awareness that the official story is nonsense and a growing number of people want a new investigation. Hopefully these numbers will reach a tipping point before the USA and it’s Western poodles drag us all into some kind of Armageddon.

kevin morris
kevin morris
Sep 22, 2016 10:09 AM

I am a homoeopath and so know all too well of the activities of pseudo skeptics. I regard the term as accurate and the above description of the antics of pseudo skeptics as accurate too. I have thought long and hard about their motivation and have come to the conclusion that for many, fear is the powerful motivation. Real skepticism is about uncertainty and an unwillingness to take on board accepted explanations. In the 9/11 situation, the true skeptics are those in organisations such as ‘Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth’. They don’t claim any controversy- merely that official explanations don’t bear up to scientific scrutiny. Fear of uncertainty is so often the motivating factor, and is why some people will cling to official explanations against all evidence to the contrary.

headrush69
headrush69
Sep 21, 2016 10:00 PM

Well,
I hope this comment is taken in the spirit it was intended.
At this point I have to agree with Chomskys attitude on this subject – that there is little point in pursuing it. All I see is endless argument by authority, whether that’s the official line or one of myriad theories. I refuse to use the mandated terms of engagement (“truthers” etc) because they are part of the problem.
The thermite evidence as presented above in various comments is entirely warrantless. Apparently it was collected from the “vicinity” of the WTC. Does that sound definitive to anyone here? Some random samples collected by an unknown source and the analysis presented in a pay to play journal. Hardly conclusive. And that was only the first problem with that “evidence”.
Let’s cut to the chase. THERE IS NO TRUTH!
Every person who has a theory that the government did it has their own argument. They are very rarely consistent with others in the group. But you attempt to discredit one and suddenly the whole warring conspiracy faction unites against you. I lost hope for rational discussion on the subject when someone posted a comment saying there were no planes and blah blah blah. That comment had 7 thumbs up at the time of reading and no rebuttals. Really? Skeptics are we?
Add to this grouping the constant trolling of people whose behaviour indicates their immature and bigoted nature, responding with insults but no evidence to rebut posted claims. The lack of real names speaks volumes here. Don’t worry, you’ll get over it. I did, it comes with age.
As a wise man once said “extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence” Well patently there has not been such evidence as the argument is ongoing. Real evidence cannot be ignored and experiments are reproducible. I believe that was Chomskys point. But apparently he’s a gatekeeper according to some here.
Regarding the 2000 plus members of the architects and engineers group, I refuse to accept any argument based on authority. Especially from a country where you can buy your expert for whatever reason you choose and 2000 people in a nation numbering over 300 million is a dwindling percentage.
Please understand, I have the opinion that something untoward happened on 9/11, what that was I don’t presume to know. But – this whole 9/11 truth thing is just a diversion. You’re fighting against each other. You’re fighting yesterday’s battles with the same troops, the same arguments, on the same ground. This approach has yielded nothing in 15 years, maybe it’s time to deal with contemporary issues, like Syria, central America, Brazil, Ukraine etc etc.
But you won’t. And because of that “they” have won.
Divide and rule. Mission accomplished.
My biggest regret is that offG ran this series. Maybe it was an honest attempt to find some clarity but all its done is expose the dishonesty of many who claim to be other than they are. Go back to exposing contemporary wrongdoing in government. At least there’s a prospect of achieving something there. This is just a waste of electrons and time.

Nick G.
Nick G.
Sep 22, 2016 7:49 AM
Reply to  headrush69

I understand your frustrations – even on such an invaluable site such as OG, the subject of 9/11 seems to bring out unsavoury attitudes and modes of address that are frankly embarrassing, and belong in Alex Jones land.
That said, perhaps it is worth some pain to keep crawling towards this elusive truth you refuse to accept is possible. You say real evidence cannot be ignored. That’s good. All any serious 9/11 researcher / body wants is a new, independent investigation not tainted by obfuscation, poor funding, movable physics theories etc etc. Such an investigation could surely put to rest – by method of transparent, reproducible modelling and experiments – any lingering issues around many of the observed events that day. Then perhaps we could get past people making “truthful” assertions (such as yours regarding WTC dust) with vague words such as “apparently”… 😉

vectorsands
vectorsands
Sep 23, 2016 10:12 PM
Reply to  headrush69

The uniting factor here is that the official explanation for the tower collapses doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Skeptics of the official story, don’t need to come up with an all-encompassing alternative theory that everybody agrees on; it is enough to point out the flaws in the NIST report, and based on this, the need for a new investigation.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 7:58 PM

b1c1jones said:

There weren’t ANY explosions even randomly sequenced that matched demolition even closely.Watch a real explosive building demolition, with sound, if you are confused.

This is not a scientific statement or any kind of assessment that can be quantified or analysed. It’s just a personal opinion.
We would need to compare a range of footage (not just a single example) of controlled demolitions with WTC7 and see if there are valid comparisons in the number and volume of explosions, though this would still be imprecise. Do you know of such a comparison? Maybe OffGuardan would host one if you pointed to good footage?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 2:00 AM

“This is not a scientific statement or any kind of assessment that can be quantified or analysed. It’s just a personal opinion.”
All controlled demolitions use explosives that are carefully sequenced and create extremely loud noise when they detonate. They also produce spikes of energy that would be recorded by seismographs.
Each of these factors is missing.
Asserting controlled demolition has required the ‘truther’ club to invent novel claims, such as nano-thermite, that have never been used in controlled demolition.
They start with a conclusion — conspiracy involving controlled demolition — then try to cobble together arguments and invent evidence to support those arguments. It’s a farce.

Nick G.
Nick G.
Sep 22, 2016 11:54 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

“They start with a conclusion — conspiracy involving controlled demolition — then try to cobble together arguments and invent evidence to support those arguments. It’s a farce.”
NIST started with a conclusion – fire-induced structural failure – and then tried to cobble together arguments and invent evidence to support those arguments. It’s a farce.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 22, 2016 11:55 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

@jerome fryer
Please stop using universal dismissals based on the assumed failings of those you disagree with rather than dealing with the data in a rational and objective manner. It’s unhelpful and distracting.
I’m not a “conspiracy theorist”. I have zero interest in conspiracies. I don’t believe there was a controlled demolition on 9/11. I don’t believe anything at all. I have an open mind. But I have read the NIST report and it doesn’t do what it was tasked with doing, ie explain why collapse by fire is the most “probable” explanation.
Try to clear your mind a moment. Forget the spin from either side.
Do you understand that no steel frame high rise has EVER fallen due to fire prior to or after 9/11.
Do you undertand that hundreds of buildings have been brought down by explosives?
Do you understand that, given this, the balance of probability at the outset of investigation has to be that explosives brought down the towers, not fire?
Do you understand that NIST didn’t even bother to look for any evidence of explosives even though it had to be assumed the most probable explanation? Do you understand NIST went instead straight for the assumption fires had brought down the tower and set about making a model that would show this was possible?
Do you understand this is scientifically irrational? That you NEVER begin an investigation by assuming the least probable explanation is the true one?
NIST’s report is insufficient because it dismissed the most probable cause of collapse without examination and instead constructed and tweaked a model, invoked new physical processes and denied basic physics in order to make the least probable explanation work.
Even if fire did induce collapse for the only three times in history on that one day in 2001, NIST’s investigation fell far short of proving it.
Please stop talking about “conspiracy theorists” and deal with the thousands of people like me who are not claiming conspiracies but just want a new and proper investigation!

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 22, 2016 12:09 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

@jerome fryer
Whether we accept the thermite findings or not (I’m not completely convinced), these guys didn’t “invent novel terms”, they did an experiment that NIST ought to have done. They looked for evidence of explosives.
NIST had more resource than Harrit et al. Why the hell didn’t they test for explosives so they could rule out the common before proceeding to the rare?
It’ a first rule of science, you don’t assume an unprecedented esoteric explanation before you have tested for and disproven the precedented and commonplace.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 22, 2016 9:47 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

@Jerome Fryer:
“All controlled demolitions use explosives that are carefully sequenced and create extremely loud noise when they detonate. They also produce spikes of energy that would be recorded by seismographs.” … “Each of these factors is missing.”
It is completely untrue to say these factors are missing from the evidence. There is abundant evidence including audio, video and seismic recordings, which clearly show evidence of explosives during the destruction of the towers.
The following video is quite long (about 1 hour) but it is very revealing and educational.
Following a very brief introduction by Niels Harrit about the NIST findings, there are sections showing clear evidence of sequenced explosives in the North Tower collapse, plus upward and outward explosive ejection of heavy building components being hurled sideways hundreds of feet.
One video section (which has been carefully adjusted to compensate for the distance of the camera from the towers, so that sound and vision are synchronised) shows massive explosions at the base of the towers well before the collapse starts, as well as other large and sequenced explosions in the run up to and during the collapses.
Another section shows clearly, using high school physics (with easy to follow animations), how the observed ejections of heavy steel beams and other material cannot follow the outward and upward trajectories they did except by explosive forces.
There is a section which analyses FEMA’s own seismic recordings which show the very large energies at work during the collapse of the towers, and how these recorded energies do not match the potential energy of the buildings. They also show how the recorded seismic energy of both towers are very different from each other (one almost double the other), despite both buildings being substantially the same and therefore having very similar potential energies.
There is much to see here for anyone with an open mind who wants to see actual evidence that explosives were used.
9/11: A Scientific Look at the Evidence 2016 – The Science of 9/11

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 23, 2016 1:28 AM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

CloudSlicer,
I’m going to post this video on my blog.
With your permission, I’d like to pilfer your comment for the preamble of the post, while making proper btl attribution to one “CloudSlicer.”

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 23, 2016 12:38 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Norman,
Permission granted. I am happy to oblige, and look forward to seeing it there.

vectorsands
vectorsands
Sep 23, 2016 10:16 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Perhaps if the steel had not been immediately carted off to China, we might have something better to work with. As it stands, it is enough to point out that the NIST report is false. We don’t need a new theory to demand a new investigation.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 24, 2016 8:35 AM
Reply to  vectorsands

NIST did work with steel samples taken from the tower collapses. They didn’t have samples from WTC 7 as that was more ‘standard’ construction material, and hadn’t been subjected to aircraft impact.
Claiming that the NIST report was flawed doesn’t make the assertion true. Giving your money to fraudsters to conduct their own ‘experiments’ — or just produce huge quantities of rhetorical nonsense — is entirely your right, but if you want taxpayers to fund another investigation (by whom is another question) then you have to find something worthwhile to criticise.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 24, 2016 11:31 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Reasons why the NIST report is flawed:
(1) NIST did not even bother to look for evidence of explosives, which is the only precedented method by which steel frame high rise buildings have been brought down (save one toppling due to earthquake). Instead it went straight to the unprecedented idea of fire-induced collapse and tried to produce models that verified this idea.
(2) NIST did not abandon the unprecedented hypothesis of fire-induced collapse even when initial tests (as described by Kevin Ryan) seemed to rule it out. Instead they did the scientifically egregious thing and kept changing the models until they managed to get the result.
(3) We don’t know how egregious these changes were because NIST refuses to release its models, but we know at least one of their parameters (the thermal conductivity of steel) was altered indefensibly.
This is why non-conspiracy theorist scientists and engineers and others want:
(a) NIST to release its models
(b) a new official enquiry with total transparency.
My questions (to which I’d appreciate direct non-abusive, non-generic answers):
(1) Do you think these specific statements and aims are irrational?
(2) if so, why? (please answer specifically about these aims and not about the generic wrongness of conspiracy-thinking – which I am NOT promoting)

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 29, 2016 12:10 PM

“Reasons why the NIST report is flawed:”
(1) Is simply incorrect. The debris was checked for explosive residues by dog teams. NIST did consider the possibility, but ruled it out because there is zero evidence to support this claim.
(2) and (3) indicate that you (along with the editors / moderators here) have no idea what the process of modelling something requires. It isn’t something I do, either, but I understand that if the results match reality then it’s fit for purpose.
“This is why non-conspiracy theorist scientists and engineers and others want:
(a) NIST to release its models
(b) a new official enquiry with total transparency.
My questions (to which I’d appreciate direct non-abusive, non-generic answers):”
I have no problem with (a), but I doubt it would help anyone — and probably merely create a large increase in ‘noise’ due to incompetent people fiddling with the data.
(b) is problematic, because when I asked about this (including on the ISF forums) it turns out that ‘truthers’ cannot set out what this requirement is. If you don’t even know what you want, then you’re unlikely to get it. Also: who should pay for this? The taxpayers already paid for NIST, insurers paid for Arup — will the 0.1% of professional people who subscribe to the ‘truther’ project pay for it?
Let us assume that such an undertaking proceeds and the results come back. What happens if they agree with NIST and Arup? Is that the end of it, or will the conspiracy believers simply see this as another ‘proof’ that there really is a vast conspiracy?
What do you think? Are you willing to put your money on the table?

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 29, 2016 12:49 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Jerome Fryer said:
1)”The debris was checked for explosive residues by dog teams. NIST did consider the possibility, but ruled it out because there is zero evidence to support this claim.”
if anyone ever made the claim that dog teams ruled out the presence of explosives in the WTC rubble (can you find a source?) they were idiots or deceivers. The debris field extended four storeys under ground Jerome, and was roasting hot at its core. You don’t send in some dogs to walk over the surface. You take all the infrastructure you can find to a place of safety and you spend the next year or two inspecting it minutely, microscopically, for evidence of explosives or other suspicious agents.
They did not do this, as we all know. In fact the steel was carted off and melted down before any real inspection of the crime scene had been done. NIST didn’t even test the few pieces that were left for evidence of explosives.
Jerome said:
””(2) and (3) indicate that you (along with the editors / moderators here) have no idea what the process of modelling something requires. It isn’t something I do, either, but I understand that if the results match reality then it’s fit for purpose.
Ok, I assume you to mean, since the model predicted a fire-induced collapse, and since the WTC did collapse while on fire, the model must be accurate? This is absolute nonsense, and I’ll explain why when I have more time. Suffice to say that if I input the right data I could make a collapse model that fell down due to impact with low cloud. The fact this model resulted in the WTC towers falling down, just as they did on 9/11, would indeed “match reality”, but that would not make it any less ridiculous.
As to your last point – how can the phrase “a new official enquiry with total transparency” possibly need more explanation or development? If we can find the money for illegal wars we can find the money for this.
Whether or not I personally would accept the conclusions would depend solely on the data produced and if it fitted those conclusions better than any other.

binra
binra
Sep 21, 2016 6:40 PM

An unwatched mind is easily deceived when a form of something is used to hide a different meaning or motive than its appearance. This is a kind of double-talk of form and can also operate as a wolf in sheep’s clothing or a trojan ploy. Masking cynical attack under the guise of scepticism is similar. Though it can be the gullible followers of cynical manipulators who can discover a response that does not fit their profile for nutcases and they can thus call into question their own allegiances and beliefs.
Dressing up or masking in forms that get passed off as true is part of our masking habits – such as a disarming smile that isn’t actually a smile – but a strategy of evasion. We do this much more than we recognize – but it also masks us from truly seeing what is going on – ie: it is manipulators who are in the realm or frequency of being manipulated. Releasing ad-hominem thoughts in ourself allows recognizing them when otherwise we react in like kind – for the sense of personal conflict doesn’t have to openly express in ad hominem terms to operate a desire to win in disregard for truth. Or in other terms, one can be politically or indeed scientifically ‘correct’ whilst behaving in loveless or hateful but ‘acceptable’ or ‘authorised’ ways.
Scepticism means something – including holding back from believing or accepting true until proofs or evidences are investigated and found to support the view or not.
A fake scepticism is used in defence of scientism – which is a masking of power within scientific forms of appearance and association – by attacking or outlawing rivals or threats to its market and mind capture – as if from a presumption and alignment with impartial or neutral authority. A false sense of scepticism is also employed as an identity mask by those who for their own reasons have investment in the official scientific narrative – as purveyed by a captured educational and media, and presented as consensus reality.
But it is not scepticism any more than an identity made by belief in Science is Science. But of course it may present itself as open to other views whilst in practice having no intention whatsoever.
The willingness to question what we believe or believe we know and accept as true is also the willingness to release it enough to evaluate it. To merely ask of the mind formed by its beliefs is no challenge at all.
Science as established institutionally (scientism) is very much serving political power as an institutional and educational endeavour and has operated the most fundamental shaping of mind, almost unnoticed by what is normally considered political commentary. This is not to feed an anti-Science agenda – but to set Science free of an anti-Life agenda, which I do not feel is an exaggeration.
The rising of the idea of psychopathic operation of power at very high levels at least begins to recognize that an agenda of blind and unfeeling disregard for life is operating rather than a muddled incompetence that passes off as plausible deniability. However I feel to frame my observations in terms of relational communication rather than presume scientific detachment to objectify others. There are correspondences that are hidden by the exclusive focus within physical-sight and mind to the presumption that the power and cause of existence is ‘out there’ to a private ‘in here’ rather than an inherence within a Totality of Existence that includes and is embraced by non physical or indeed non-local qualities that cannot be objectified – only partially translated into terms of physical sense – such as the mind may notice upon waking from sleep-dreaming. What does not fit the model is unseen, discarded, denied, or redefined to terms that support the consciousness. When the model is equated with the self and with power and control – in fear of loss of self and loss of control – then the ‘ego’ identification locks down against change and becomes an anti-life refusal to be in any terms but its own set.
BTW
http://www.skepticalaboutskeptics.org/
links in with ultra909 mentioning Rupert Sheldrake and scepticism

Catte
Catte
Sep 21, 2016 4:52 PM

I’d like to add a couple of points to the top (for the moment) of this thread if I may.
1- Sincere apologies to Jerome for re-christening him “Jeff.” It was unforgivably lax of me. I also sincerely hope he doesn’t think I was mocking him. On the contrary, I think his obvious sincerity and ballsy preparedness to walk the walk and do the work is very admirable and very rare. His misplaced trust in a few pseudoskeptics who clearly haven’t bothered to do half the research he has done is just one of those human things we all do all the time.
2- Since we have quite a few International Skeptics dropping by here atm, could I ask them to consider addressing the ongoing issue BTL of NIST’s decision to assign a thermal conductivity of 0 to the steel in its models. We have had input from several science and technical people saying this parameter invalidated the NIST model, but so far only Jerome has ventured to try and prove this isn’t true.
We would very much like to see more input.
Does NIST’s report show validation for the 0, or not?
All contributions to this would be most welcome – BTL or ATL. But do source your claims and try to avoid the “your mom” approach.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 6:25 PM
Reply to  Catte

Where in the NIST NCSTAR WTC 7 final reports does it state thermal conductivity was set to zero in all of its models?

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 6:38 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

There’s a source for NIST’s original statement in this article
https://off-guardian.org/2016/09/17/why-did-nist-decide-wtc-steel-could-not-conduct-heat/
They assigned a TC of zero or near-zero to the steel in their model of the “gas phase” of the WTC fire.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 9:55 PM

Those quoted sections are for WTC7 and 2, not WTC7. They also only apply to two very limited situations: modeling a beam before a test, and modeling gas temperatures where the floor is composite and the concrete is the layer in contact with the gas.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 11:19 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Am I correct in my reading that they validated the models against their physical testing?
Or am I confusing their physical testing with other models? (Are these models non-validated / in calibrated. This seems unlikely, but there may be something that I am missing.)
An irrelevant detail in the case of the ‘macro’ modelling, but I’m just curious about whether my understanding is sufficient.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 11:54 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

They modeled a beam to set up a test, in the case at hand, then performed the test.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 21, 2016 11:56 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

You can’t keep ignoring the marmalade and continue expecting us to take you seriously.

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 23, 2016 1:48 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Explain what you mean by “they modeled a beam to set up a test”? How/why would they do such a thing?

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 9:56 PM

Correction to my reply: WTC1 and 2, not WTC7 and 2. Phone autocorrect got me.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 5:22 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Correction to every single thing b1c1jones has said and implied about why NIST sets the thermal conductivity of steel to zero:
Extended quote begins:
[. . .]
NIST begins its explanation with a sleight of hand. The “initial local failure” is not a column buckling according to this new story, but is the displacement of a girder by means of the thermal expansion of up to five floor beams. It is there that we must begin our analysis of NIST’s new story, and if that is not realistic, then none of the remaining explanation for WTC 7 is realistic.
We should begin with a fact described in one of NIST’s earlier reports on WTC 7.
“Most of the beams and girders [in WTC 7] were made composite with the slabs through the use of shear studs.” NCSTAR 1-1, p 14
NIST now contradicts this earlier finding, in order to support the new story.
“In WTC 7 no studs were installed on the girders.” NCSTAR 1-9, p 346
[. . .]
For NIST’s new story, those floor beams would have had to not only expand linearly, but also break 28 high-strength shear studs, 2 seat bolts, 2 clip bolts (and seat welds), and then cause the buckling of a gigantic girder (which also had 22 shear studs) before the beams themselves buckled or even weakened. This is quite the opposite of what NIST says happened in the towers, where the official story is that the floors sagged dramatically. In WTC7, NIST now says the floors did not sag or weaken a bit, but remained fiercely rigid as high-temperature linear expansion caused them to wreak havoc on the surrounding structure.
[. . .]
To accomplish the linear expansion, the beams first had to get very hot. NIST says that its computer models suggest that “some sections” of these beams reached 600 °C.
“Due to the effectiveness of the SFRM, the highest column temperatures in WTC 7 only reached an estimated 300 °C (570 °F), and only on the east side of the building did the floor beams reach or exceed about 600 °C.” NCSTAR 1A, p 19
“The temperatures of some sections of the beams supporting Floors 8, 12, 13, and 14 exceeded 600 °C.” NCSTAR 1A, p 48
These extremely high steel temperatures would most certainly have resulted in the weakening of the beams, once the shear studs had been lost, allowing the thermal expansion to be relieved through downward sagging. This fact is supported by the experimental data produced by the Cardington tests, described in NCSTAR 1-9 (section 8.4.3), where much shorter floor beam spans experienced significant sagging. Therefore, this rigid beam linear expansion hypothesis is not realistic.
In any case, although NIST does not state it clearly in the new report, a 575 °C increase in temperature would have caused the girder end of the beams to experience a maximum of 2.2 inches of deflection. And if it were only a “section,” for example only a third of a beam length, then the increase from thermal expansion would be correspondingly smaller (or 0.7 inches). This makes NIST’s story of all those bolts and studs breaking in unison, and that critical girder buckling, quite unbelievable.
But how did the beams reach 600 °C in the first place? In the real world, this would have required very hot fires for a very long time. In NIST’s computer, of course, this was not a problem. As with the report for the towers, these cyber-space investigators only needed to fudge a few numbers, like the thermal conductivity of the materials involved. Structural steel has a thermal conductivity of 46 W/m/K, which means that any heat applied is easily wicked away. But if that value were set to zero, or near zero, any heat applied would allow the temperature to rise dramatically at the point of application.
“The steel was assumed in the FDS model to be thermally-thin, thus, no thermal conductivity was used.” NCSTAR 1-5F, p 20
“The interior walls [including insulated steel columns] were assumed to have the properties of gypsum board [0.5 W/m/K].” NCSTAR 1-5F, p 52
“Although the floor slab actually consisted of a metal deck topped with a concrete slab…the thermal properties of the entire floor slab were assumed to be that of concrete [1.0 W/m/K].” NCSTAR 1-5F, p 52
Fudging the thermal conductivity values, and extrapolating the localized computer results across vast sections of the building, appears to be how NIST scientists convinced themselves that they could promote the high steel temperatures.
But also note that raising those five floor beams to a temperature of 600 °C would require an enormous amount of energy, far more than was available from the burning of the office furnishings underneath the floor beams. Of course, NIST has not had any trouble selling such leaps of imagination before, as its media sponsors don’t ask detailed questions and NIST does not discuss its reports with independent investigators.
Extended quote ends.
source of the foregoing extended quote:
http://911review.com/articles/ryan/NIST_WTC7.html

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 10:02 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

We should begin with a fact described in one of NIST’s earlier reports on WTC 7.
“Most of the beams and girders [in WTC 7] were made composite with the slabs through the use of shear studs.” NCSTAR 1-1, p 14

That quote appears to be pulled from a draft report (2004?). This was amended to:

“Most of the beams were made composite with the slabs through the use of shear studs.”

Then the accusation:

NIST now contradicts this earlier finding, in order to support the new story.
“In WTC 7 no studs were installed on the girders.” NCSTAR 1-9, p 346

If you compare a draft report with a final report, you might find discrepancies.
This is a good example of why some people really ought to stay within their field of competence. (Ryan’s is water quality testing, apparently.)

Nick G.
Nick G.
Sep 22, 2016 10:13 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

How about the ‘discrepancy’ of not admitting partial freefall? Would that have been amended in the final report had it not been proven by Chandler?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 11:09 AM
Reply to  Nick G.

Why do you believe that free fall is important?
Do you believe that free fall implies controlled demolition?

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 22, 2016 11:59 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

What kind of clueless idiot could possibly come to that conclusion?
Great comedy Fryer.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 22, 2016 10:28 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

This is the only way (apart from personal abuse) to try and disguise the totally obvious re WTC7. To engage others in extremely detailed debate about non-issues and drag the unwary into irrelevant disputes that amount to no more than gibbering nonsense.
WTC was a controlled demolition.
Totally obvious. Period.

Nick G.
Nick G.
Sep 22, 2016 11:43 AM

@ Jerome
Whether or not I believe free fall proves controlled demolition is not the point.
The failure on NIST’s part to correctly analyse the collapse sequence – surely one of the bedrocks of their remit – shows (at best) a deeply flawed working method including basic errors. That, coupled with their refusal to release their workings relegates their report to the waste bin.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 6:54 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Oh, b1c1jones has read the NIST report in its entirety and understands it in depth, technicalities and everything . . .
[edited for typo – OffG ed]

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 11:20 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Have you, Norman?

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 11:44 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Claim:
“I fully understand NIST, I was just warning about the level of technical detail and obtaining clarification on a question.”
Question:
“Where in the NIST NCSTAR WTC 7 final reports does it state thermal conductivity was set to zero in all of its models?”
Does that suggest to you a full understanding of NIST, Jerome?
You see, you don’t have to read ALL of NIST’s reports to point to some of the flaws in the reports. But if you claim that there are flaws, then you should be able to point to the one’s you have in mind or to the one’s you claimed were in the reports. Have I done less?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 2:05 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

The question is where does NIST state they set thermal conductivity for steel to zero in all of their models.
Reading comprehension, attention to detail, careful analysis, critical thinking: all aspects required to ensure credible discussion, and all are severely lacking amongst the ‘truthers’.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 2:07 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Thank you Jerome. I’ve always been challenged with print.

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 22, 2016 3:35 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

We don’t know about most of NIST’s parameters because it won’t release its models. But can you think of any honest motive for giving any steel in the model a thermal conductivity of zero?
If the thermal conductivity isn’t a factor in the model you would not enter a parameter at all, there is no legitimate circumstance in which you would be justified in entering false data.
It only makes sense if you were trying to skew your results .

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 10:06 AM
Reply to  Loop Garou

I have explained this multiple times already.
Try to wrap your head around the model being designed to replicate the physical tests.
It does not matter at all if the model is ‘wrong’ (by some person’s estimation) — what matters is whether it correctly predicts the real world results.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 2:11 AM
Reply to  Catte

“His misplaced trust in a few pseudoskeptics who clearly haven’t bothered to do half the research he has done”
Opinion stated as fact, and also wildly incorrect.
I didn’t suggest that the posters on ISL might be worth bringing in because they post clever rhetoric and can engage in world-class sophistry. They know how to analyse and debunk pseudo-scientific crap and — more importantly — apply basic critical thinking to absurd hypotheses.
The second point is the most important: do the claims put forward by ‘truthers’ make any sense?

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 22, 2016 3:30 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

C’mon Jerome. You asked them to give you an authoritative back-up to your view NIST was correct to set the thermal conductivity of the steel to zero. They couldn’t answer you. They didn’t know. They obviously had no clue what you were even talking about.
Word of advice – anyone from either camp who tries to tell you the science of 9/11 is a done deal and only idiots have doubts is either a liar or an idiot who’s been taken in by other liars.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 10:38 AM
Reply to  Loop Garou

Once again, just for you, Loop:
The second point is the most important: do the claims put forward by ‘truthers’ make any sense?

Loop Garou
Loop Garou
Sep 23, 2016 1:56 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Some of the claims make sense others don’t. Much like NIST. I support a call for a new investigation. I don’t support stupid anti-scientific ideas from truthers or non-truthers.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 22, 2016 12:40 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

“do the claims put forward by ‘truthers’ make any sense?”

That question is so broad it’s almost meaningless. How do you define “truthers”? What claims do you mean?
Does the claim of “directed energy weapons” make sense? No.
Does the claim of holograms make any sense? No.
Does the claim it was a controlled demolition make any sense? Yes, it’s certainly completely rational and nothing in the evidence so far rules it out.
Does the claim the NIST report is insufficient make any sense? Yes. In fact it’s self-evidently true.
The idea of “truthers” as a monolith is just a convenient lie put out by those trying to pretend there’s nothing to see here. Some “truthers” are absolutely nuts. Let’s agree to ignore them and discuss the rational science, yes?

vectorsands
vectorsands
Sep 23, 2016 10:25 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

The “truthers” didn’t get $15million to investigate the how and why the towers collapsed, NIST did. NISTS’s claims are the ones on trial here. I highly recommend Kevin Ryan’s presentation at the Toronto hearings available on youtube to see how unscientific their claims are. (Though all you really have to do is look at their ridiculous WTC7 collapse model that looks nothing like the actual thing).

Le Ruscino (@LeRuscino)
Le Ruscino (@LeRuscino)
Sep 21, 2016 1:01 PM

9/11 Journalists cannot investigate legitimately – they ‘if honest’ can only report an authentic investigative engineering report unless they are PhD level Structural Engineers of course with access to the raw data?
The problem is motivation of the true scientific engineering community that has an authoritative voice to step outside the comfort zone of Govt funding & tell the truth so logically skeptical observers put forward amateur skeptical opinions many of which have a great content of truth.
Like a great many qualified engineers I can do the calculations with what open-source data is available, as many have done but the results & their interpretations will be subject to a Bellingcat’esque unqualified scrutiny coupled with the bought & paid for Academic line. BUT WE DON’T HAVE THE RAW DATA so what is said can be ripped & conjectured. Raw Data means the precise engineering design with modifications & architect Minoru Yamasaki’s full file – WHICH NOBODY CAN GET !
Until a recognised science house outside the realms of pressure publishes in layman’s terms the factual concise reasons why the 3 towers fell like they did this argument has an everlasting lifespan.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 1:09 PM

Data sets for climate measurement are easily available. Do you believe that this availability has assisted with general understanding?
The data, and models, are just another distraction. There is no logic to the various hypotheses about the 9/11 events that diverge from the ‘official’ version.
Just because government bodies lie sometimes, it does not follow that they always lie concerning everything. (And in any case, there has been plenty of cover-up of the negligence and stupidity that allowed the attacks to occur. But the public are still being given the circus of conspiracy theory about the terrorist attacks.)

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 3:41 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

The data, and models, are just another distraction.”
Do you mean NIST’s data and models?
You think the entire body of physical evidence and research upon which the official explanation of collapse by fire is based is a “distraction”?
A distraction from what? Breezy ad homs? Proof through certitude?
That “distraction” is literally the only physical evidence ever adduced.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 11:25 PM

A distraction from thinking about the nonsensical assertions behind ‘controlled demolition’ and other such invention.
This infeasibly huge web of conspirators was clever enough to manage to perform what would be considered by most rational people to be impossible physical feats. However, they left some paperwork behind in their secret control bunker in WTC 7, so obviously they had to completely destroy that entire building. The paper-shredder must have been jammed, and they’re a PITA to un-jam, so… Meh… Destroy another high-rise.
This makes sense to ‘truthers’.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 22, 2016 12:43 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Let’s confine ourselves to discussing the science. What can or can’t be proven there is the first step. Speculating about conspiracies doesn’t interest me.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 4:14 PM

Government funding is a false disqualification. It presumes government guilt in the events, and presumes any level of funds from the government will make a conclusion invalid.
The evidence is out there for all to see that 19 terrorists committed the acts of 9/11. There is no evidence that bears up under scrutiny of any other involvement, and certainly no evidence of fantasy conclusions of demolition, when no Controlled Demolition sounds were recorded, no detonators found, no money trail or purchases of equipment, no technicians identified. The building collapses occurred after fire and damage – collapse mechanisms due to weakened members have been modelled and are plausable, with similar alternate mechanisms identified by non-government industry groups.
Freefall, symmetry in the eye of the observer are not controlled demolition evidence. WTC7 collapsed from the inside out, so sufficient leverage was applied to the moment framed exterior to result in downward acceleration that at times exceeded 9.81 m/s2 (gravity acceleratio), as the exterior of the WTC7 was shown to exhibit during precise measurement. That moment frame also explains the apparent “symmetry ” of the collapse, as it held the exterior of a symmetrical building intact during collapse.
The so called nanothermite find was independently identified professionally as paint primer on metal chips. The Harrit experiment was also flawed in concept and presentation, not showing test rules in parallel between paint and so called nanothermite with comparative statistics to clearly identify materials, and was not carried out in an inert atmosphere. The study itself was “peer reviewed ” by a fellow Truther.
A true skeptic questions ALL claims. I have seen evidence of the Al Qaeda attack. Fantasy demolition claims have no evidence, so as a skeptic I dismiss them.
LSSBB

Catte
Catte
Sep 21, 2016 4:32 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

We don’t need to touch upon the possibility of direct government involvement in order to recognise the desirability of a truly independent inquiry, or the potential for abuse. Government always have a preferred narrative and will pressure inquiries to favour those narratives. NIST’s failures, if failures there were, don’t have to point to direct government involvement in 9/11 in order to be regarded as egregious and requiring additional investigation.
Don’t fall into binary thinking. Rejection of insane ideas about space beams, nukes or evil cabals does not necessitate endorsing everything NIST says without question.
And I think you’re failing to do as you advocate and equally critique both sides. You decide to reject the thermite finding and accept the paint finding, on what basis? I’ve read both Harrit et al and Millette and it seems Millette’s findings are really no more conclusive than Harrit’s. Harrit even produced a rebuttal of Millette, which Millette has not in turn rebutted. So, how concluive is this debate in reality?

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 21, 2016 5:24 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

No evidence? Are you practising for a performance at the comedy club. [edited for content-free ad hom -OffG ed.]

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 6:00 PM

Explosives go boom. Thermite burns bright. At every location they are used.
Buildings collapsed after fire. A lattice of beams, girders and columns was distorted under heat from uncontrolled fires, and gave way at a weak spot. A building collapsed from the inside out and brought down it’s shell. Controlled demolition is a fantasy. The only non-fantasy government involoved scenario is listening to data such as the Aug. 6th PDB, and saying “Let’s see how this plays out”, and there is no evidence that happened.
Was the Bush administration gunning for Iraq? Yes – and the hijackers were not affiliated with Sadam. Did the Bush administration make mistakes? Yes. Didn’t take threat of non-state actors seriously. Covered up Pat Tillman. Caught being too cozy to Saudis. Enacted heavy handed security measures. Did they kill nearly 3000 people using planes PLUS super secret demolition ninjas? No evidence.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 6:56 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

“Explosives go boom.”

Yes they do. And there are many eyewitnesses of things going boom that day;
https://off-guardian.org/2016/09/11/the-toronto-hearings-on-911-graeme-macqueen/
I agree this isn’t conclusive proof of explosives, there are other things that might be going boom in a burning building. But the claim of “no booms therefore no explosives” is invalid as a first premise.

“Thermite burns bright.”

Yes it does. But this is a hard one to quantify. Whether or not the bright flashes of thermite shape charges would be visible would depend on where they were located.
And ultimately arguments for probability can’t override data. If (and only if of course) the finding of thermite in the WTC dust can be validated then all other questions are moot.

Buildings collapsed after fire.

But just as thermite burns bright and explosives go boom, steel frame high rise buildings DON’T collapse due to fire. You have to allow the improbabilities of all sides equal weight.
If WTC 1, 2 and 7 collapsed due to fire (I’m not claiming they definitely did or didn’t, since we have insufficient data) they would have been the first and last such buildings ever to do so in the history of architecture. This means before we accept this explanation we need very good data and to be very sure to exclude other more plausible explanations.
No comparable buildings have previously been brought down by fire. Hundreds have been brought down by explosives. Ergo on simply probability considerations explosives had to be the first likelihood explored.
Yet NIST did not even examine the debris for signs of explosive charges! This is why we need a new investigation.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 7:06 PM

Sporadic reports of explosions by eyewitnesses does not make up for no timed sequence of high decibel demolition explosikns.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 7:36 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Whoa wait a minute.
1) We don’t know there was no timed sequence do we?
2) We have very little data about the decibels of the explosions heard.
We can’t rule out explosive charges on this basis. They must remain one possible and on the face of it plausible explanation of the booms heard.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 7:43 PM

There weren’t ANY explosions even randomly sequenced that matched demolition even closely.Watch a real explosive building demolition, with sound, if you are confused.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 6:59 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Did WTC7, at any point in its descent, ever drop at “free fall?”

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 7:05 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

It bounced around an acceleration of free fall for a brief time, behavior fully explainable by the inside leveraging the exterior to the point of collapse.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 7:07 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

What does “bounced around an acceleration of free fall for a brief time” mean, exactly.\?

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 7:20 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

The acceleration was not constant. It was sometime above g, sometimes below, according to precision analysis by ISF members pgimemo and femr2. NIST and others only did an imprecise average. There is a detailed highly technical thread concerning the analysis, at ISF. Join, and learn.
[a link to the detailed highly technical thread would be very helpful – OffG ed]

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 7:28 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Okay. What about this:
This is the first known instance where fire-induced local damage (i.e., buckling failure of Column 79; one of 82 columns in WTC 7) led to the collapse of an entire tall building. P.62.
A detailed analysis of the descent of the north face found 3 stages: • A slow descent at less than gravitational acceleration, corresponding to column buckling • A free fall descent at gravitational acceleration over approximately 8 stories • A decreasing acceleration, as the north face encountered resistance from the structure below. P.64. [Norm’s emphasis]
ource of the foregoing two quotes: NIST Response to the World Trade Center Disaster: Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster — November 19, 2008, here:
http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/wtc/upload/WTC7RevisedTechnicalBriefing_111908.pdf
Is 2.5 seconds of virtually constant free fall an imprecise average, in your opinion? A height of over approximately 8 stories, certainly well over 7, eh.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 7:40 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

It is not virtually constant free fall, and it is fully explainable by the additional load applied by the internal structure on the exterior. Simple, Newtonian, physics.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 7:42 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Interesting. In terms of the available gravitational potential, speaking in Newtonian terms, how much of it is being converted into kinetic energy if an object is in “free fall?”

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 8:06 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

The building exterior was accelerating downward under load from the interior collapse. All gravitational potential was being converted to kinetic energy.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 8:07 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Okay. Is the interior collapse being powered by gravity?

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 8:04 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

@ b1c1jones,
Not to pick a nits, but you clearly state:
“The acceleration was not constant. It was sometime above g, sometimes below . . .”
In simple Newtonian mechanical terms, can you explain to us how, if gravity is the only source of the building’s motion, it could ever at any point in its descent “… sometime[s] [be] above 9.8 meters per second squared, or what you call “g?”

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 8:11 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Resistance at bottom of exterior is, let’s say, .3g equivalent. Force applied by interior onto exterior is .3g. Force of gravity is g.
.3g – .3g + g = g. Resulting acceleration is g, counteracting forces balance out. This is dynamic, so it changes throughout the fall as applied force goes up the down, resistance is low, then increases.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 8:17 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

So you concede that the theoretical limit of acceleration of any part of the building is 9.8 m/s^2. If the interior is pulling the exterior, the exterior is pulling the interior — equally. Therefore, if the exterior is falling at an observable 9.8 m/s^2, it must be that the interior is . . . I’ll let you finish that sentence . . .

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 21, 2016 8:56 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

The “scientific”exchanges on this thread are bullsh*t squared. It is as though a couple of arseholes from an office populated by number-blind retards in the MI6 building has gone out on the piss and, returning the worse for wear, have decided to have a little monkey-brained fun.
Don’t think you are confusing anyone with this crap. Go home and reflect on something that matters. Your spiritual destiny, perhaps.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 9:06 PM

The point, my dear physicsandmathsrevision, is to demonstrate that the other MI6 operative, who works at the desk beside me, has no fucking clue what he is talking about. Would that be a fair assessment of the direction in which this “exchange” is going? And who shit in your cornflakes, this morning? If the “exchange” is pointless in your view, why do you even bother reading it? Why do you even bother commenting on it? Take a fucking pill and chill out. And yes, I have to decided to have a bit of monkey-brained fun. Not to confuse anyone, but to demonstrate to smug ignorance that that’s what it is, smug ignorance, eh. So could you kindly fuck off, physicsandmathrevision?

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 21, 2016 9:12 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Fair do’s. Like the reply. Unfortunately most of my mental energies on this rather good website are wasted in trying to work out who is and who is not sincere. It can be hard to tell. Sincere response. Thank you.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 21, 2016 9:46 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

I do not concede the limit is 9.81 m/s2. At any time the force balance equation could be 0.35 g+ g – .3g = 1.05g.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 11:21 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

What does your reply even mean? At most it can be taken to mean this: without specifying where the additional .05g is to come from, the balance of forces can theoretically be at any moment what you specify. But then more force than “g” must be involved by an increment of .05g, as expressed in terms of “g,” and that increment cannot be supplied by the available gravitational potential of the building.
If that isn’t what you mean to imply, you show that you have no understanding whatsoever of even the most elementary concepts of Newtonian Mechanics, of neither Newton’s 3rd nor Antoine Lavoisier’s law of the conservation of energy.
If an object is moving toward the ground at “less” than free fall, more than the force of gravity must be involved, and the direction of the additional force on the object must be opposite that of the force of gravity; by the same token, if an object is falling at “more” than free fall, a force greater than gravity must also be involved, and the direction of the additional force on the object must be identical to that of the force of gravity.
Anyone claiming that under conditions of gravitational collapse any part of WTC7 could fall at a rate of acceleration greater than 9.8 m/s^2 betrays an ignorance of elementary physics.
Since you already have made that claim, you don’t know what you are talking about. Period.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 22, 2016 12:06 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

F=ma. Forces add up to make for net force. F1 + F2 + F3 = total force.
The additional. 05g in this case comes from the yanking down load applied by the interior of the building onto the exterior.
Acceleration of a falling object can exceed g if sufficient net force is applied in a downward direction in addition to the force of gravity. There is no physical law preventing an acceleration greater than g. It happens all the time.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 12:25 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

“If the interior is pulling the exterior, the exterior is pulling the interior — equally. Therefore, if the exterior is falling at an observable 9.8 m/s^2, it must be that the interior is . . . I’ll let you finish that sentence . .”
Let me help b1c1jones complete the sentence and elaborate a little upon it:
Therefore, if the exterior is falling at an observable 9.8 m/s^2, it must be that the interior is either falling at the same rate of acceleration or the interior is not connected to the exterior. For if the interior, which cannot fall faster than gravity will permit, i.e., 9.8 m/s^2, is connected and the exterior is falling at 9.8 m/s^2, the interior cannot be either pulling or pushing because otherwise, the exterior would be falling at a higher rate of acceleration (an impossibility) or at less than free fall. If, on the other hand, the interior is unconnected, it a can’t possibly be having an impact on the exterior regardless of what it may be doing. These are the ONLY possibilities at hand consistent with Newtonian Mechanics.
You can add up all the forces you like, you will never get more out of a building what it had in terms of its original gravitational potential. That is an invariant magnitude. Period.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 22, 2016 12:36 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Any collapse with acceleration remotely close to ‘g’ proves demolition. When that collapse is through the line of maximum resistance and symettrical (i.e. all supports at every level being sequentially destroyed) then the question becomes a No-Brainer.
WTC7 (and WTC’s 1 & 2) were demolitions.
Period.
Nothing could be more obvious on brief examination of the provable facts.

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 22, 2016 1:16 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

The interior falls at or below gravity, and in doing so applies a load to the exterior, because the exterior remains motionless until applied force exceeds resistance. The exterior can fall at or above g as a result. Total energy is conserved. No magic. Basic physics, free body problem. Do the math.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 1:18 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

When can the interior fall at free fall while connected to the exterior?

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 22, 2016 1:29 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Initially, or locally. It’s a big collapsing building with lots of columns, girders and beams.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 1:32 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Look, it’s a simple question with a simple answer. If the exterior is not moving and the interior, however you want to define that zone, is connected to the exterior with steel girders, not rubber bands, will it possibly fall at free fall — yes or no?

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 22, 2016 1:33 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Look, if you want to continue to debate this, please continue it at ISF. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to posting here AND there. I’m done in this particular echo chamber.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 1:34 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Yes, you’ve actually been done a while ago.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 21, 2016 11:44 PM
Reply to  b1c1jones

Absolute nonsense! You’ve forgotten the marmalade in wall cavities.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 11:39 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

b1c1jones isn’t claiming conditions of gravitational collapse alone acted on WTC 7. Do you know what he is referring to when he mentions the ‘moment frame’ that held the exterior of that building together?
The principle of leverage always works, Norman, and can convert g into g plus something with any amount present.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 12:37 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

@ b1c1jones
“There is no physical law preventing an acceleration greater than g. It happens all the time.”
What are you mumbling? That sometimes the earth attracts objects at an acceleration rate of 9.8 m/s^2 and some other days its what, 12 m/s^2 ? It happens all the time? Please cite us a couple of examples where the only occult force presumed to be acting is that of gravity.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 3:00 PM
Reply to  Nick

Ridiculous! The ball falls into the cup because a) the distance the balls falls is longer than the cup, so it must reach the surface of the table latter than the cup and b) as the lever rotates, the position of the cup aligns with the path of the ball. Anything position downward on the slope of the lever MUST arrive at the table before any that is upward. Why? Because the distance is shorter, eh. Why not just measure the speed at which the end of the lever falls? I guarantee that it does not exceed free fall.

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 21, 2016 12:08 PM

Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report
The following content is from an in-depth investigation of the conspiracy theories surround the attacks of 9/11, which was published in the March 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics. That cover story was expanded and published in August 2006 as a book titled Debunking 9/11 Myths. The fully revised and updated 2011 edition of the book is now on sale. | Feb 2, 2005 | 17.9k

This is a detailed rebuttal, point by point of the Truthers’ 9/11 conspiracy claims.
Once the facts as known were laid out with arguments, proofs, etc., the onus was then on the conspiracists to show why the official version is faulty- They have never done so. Your effort here is deplorable and just may be sufficient to write this site off as a lost cause–a true shame since your original mission, showing up the wild bias and irresponsibilities which now make their home at The Guardian.com is serious and important work.
With this episode, you imperil that needlessly, uselessly.
Your “real-” versus “pseudo-” skepticism is seriously flawed in its premises and conclusions. If I’m allowed to, I might bother to point out why. The treatment and the scoldings which moderators/admins here have dealt out to Jerome Fryer for posting reasonable questions, claims and arguments leave me embarrassed for you, so shabby was your treatment of his efforts to participate and raise objections.
I’d take your opening line and complete it this way,
“The 9/11 series here has proved interesting in a number of ways. Among other things, it has shown that this site’s editors are quite capable of behaving very much like some of the worst of what they established this site to expose and deplore about The Guardian newspaper of London’s work.
This series has been an eye-opener and, in my opinion, pitiful.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 12:42 PM
Reply to  proximity1

The only point I’d add is that there should be different standards of professionalism required of a mainstream media organisation, and a site like this one.
I don’t expect “off Guardian” to do a similar level of work as a well-funded and highly skilled organisation. That would be unrealistic.
The MSM never engage people like myself in any way, unless they can’t avoid it. Consider the lack of interest in dissenters of the caliber of Noam Chomsky or the late Howard Zinn.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 3:16 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Popular Mechanics, you say.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 3:57 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Look, NIST’s explanation of how the towers fell (fire-induced collapse) is just a hypothesis. This much is admitted by NIST itself. Under normal circumstances such a hypothesis advocating a unique and heretofore assumed impossible explanation would be considered controversial and open to debate.
Add to this the fact NIST arrived at this explanation through computer modelling, the details of which they refuse to divulge, making replication impossible, and there is every reason – in fact requirement – for scientific scepticism.
Add to this again the fact that at least one parameter NIST admitted using (the zero thermal conductivity of steel) is demonstrably bogus, and you have reason for calling the entire conduct of the inquiry into question.
Please try to draw a distinction between those who consider NIST’w work inadequate and those who believe space beams dunnit.
Many sane, well-qualifed people know NIST did a bad job and are supporting calls for a new inquiry. This is not insanity or gullibility, its simple scientific protocol and common sense.
Popular Mechanics is a dishonest and propagandist attempt to convince people the science is beyond question. The science is not beyond question, because NIST’w work was not good or thorough enough for that. We need a new investigation, independent studies and replication to resolve the many anomalies and issues.

Nick G.
Nick G.
Sep 21, 2016 4:01 PM
Reply to  proximity1

The Popular Mechanics article / book has long been discredited. See a detailed breakdown of why here:-
http://www1.ae911truth.org/faqs/676-debunking-popular-mechanics.html
You then say you’re going to explain why the skepticism / pseudo skepticism article is flawed in its premise and conclusions, but follow with an opinion on the ‘treatment’ of another poster instead.
?

Seamus Padraig
Seamus Padraig
Sep 21, 2016 7:26 PM
Reply to  Nick G.

Trivia: The author of the infamous Popular Mechanics article was none other than Benjamin Chertoff, a cousin of Michael Chertoff, who was working for the Justice Dept. during 9/11 and was later named head of Homeland Security by Bush in 2005.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 11:42 PM
Reply to  Seamus Padraig

Fact: they are not related at all.
But don’t let facts get in the way of an invented anecdote.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 21, 2016 11:49 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Dear Admin,
Posters are turning your serious website into a wankfest.
The bad thing. The tsunami if boll*x.
The good thing. You’re clearly worrying some people who see value in this disruption.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 4:44 AM
Reply to  Seamus Padraig

http://www.911myths.com/html/benjamin_chertoff.html

Here’s the story, as best as I know: I’m not related to Michael Chertoff, at least in any way I can figure out. We might be distant relatives, 15 times removed, but then again, so might you and I. Bottom line is I’ve never met him, never communicated with him, and nobody I know in my family has ever met or communicated with him.
As for what my mom said: When Chertoff was nominated to be head of homeland security it was the first I’d heard of him, and the same for my family (and, FYI, we’d already sent the 9/11 issue to the press by then!). My dad and I thought there might be some distant relation. When Chris Bollyn called and asked my mom if there was a relation (introducing himself as only “Chris”), she said “they might be distant cousins.” Like much in the conspiracy world, this was taken WAY out of context. (Another case in point: Bollyn called me earlier and asked “Were you the senior researcher on the story?” I said, “I guess so,” — that’s not a title I have ever used, nor is it at all common in magazine journalism, but I was the research editor at the time, so it kinda made sense.) Nonetheless, I was one of 9 reporters on the story, not counting editors, photo researchers, photo editors, copy editors, layout designers, production managers, fact-checkers, etc., etc., etc. who worked on this story.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 5:37 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

So they are cousins, then. But even if they don’t know each other, that doesn’t change the “fact” that Popular Mechanics is a rag.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 10:35 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Perhaps you bozos should figure out what your conspiracy theory includes, and how it is supposed to work (let alone the rationale behind any of it) — then present it for the less imaginative and / or gullible to debunk.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 22, 2016 11:08 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Perhaps you should [edited for content-free ad hom and abuse – OffG ed.] forward one fact supporting the official conspiracy theory of collapse due to fire that doesn’t leave the rest of us falling about laughing.

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 22, 2016 12:58 PM
Reply to  Nick G.

RE : my earlier comment: …” Your “real-” versus “pseudo-” skepticism is seriously flawed in its premises and conclusions. If I’m allowed to, I might bother to point out why.”
I take that up here:
The supposed distinction you’ve set up and are pushing here—that between skepticism and what you call pseudo-skepticism– is all to strained and preciously done.
Skepticism is neither inherently a virtue nor a vice. It is used or abused by all alike, from the most judicious and careful of reasoners to the most hide-bound and dogmatic in their thinking. What counts are the circumstances in which one is skeptical—the when, where, why and how of it, and not the bare matter, whether to be or not to be skeptical, as though this is to be decided a priori before taking up the evidence of the matter at hand.
You are, of course, now free to take ready refuge in the shelter of this, my attempt at clarification of the terms, by immediately asserting, as I expect you shall, that this is naturally your intended meaning as well.
But, had it been, it seems to me that it would not have occurred to you to set up this strange creature pseudo-skepticism in the first place. It seems to me that your use of it speaks to a design by which you hope to rehabilitate as based in “real” skepticism a body of opinion which is in fact anything but deserving of such a label. The skepticism employed by the bigot, the closed-minded and the unscientific is in character the same thing: a propensity to excercise doubt about something. Whether that something is deserving of doubt is another and really the whole matter and point.

In fact, unfortunately, you're failing to recognize that the people and cause you defend here are indeed maliciously abusing the respected idea of skepticism as a cover for their closed-minded.  What should be abundantly clear is that these people are not skeptical in the proper sense of the term.  They <i>don't</i> “doubt.”  They are, rather, reflexively and irredeemably convinced that the official explanation of the events of 11 September 2001 are part of an elaborate and diabolic conspiracy that is itself part and parcel of that day's events, offered by people in league with them.  Therefore, as they would have it, the official story is not to be believed by anyone except the hopelessly gullible or those who are also part of the conspiracy.

The trouble is that these people began from that premise rather than arrived there through a series of steps which, little by little, undermined their original acceptance of the official account. For they never accepted from the very first the official account. Instead, they concluded that the authorities, which are deeply implicated in a very long and very sordid history of dastardly acts—which is quite true–are therefore sure to be among the culprits responsible for this dastardly act—which is not at all necessarily true.
To make the case they started from, they’ve taken what is given and known about the events and distorted these facts with wild and shameless abandon. It appears most damningly clear from listening to their “case,” that all of their skepticism is reserved for the claims and arguments of the official story of the events. As for their own counter version, they have no use for skepticism at all. A fair reader, one who is able to weigh evidence, to sort, sift and distinguish the speciously reasoned from the soundly reasoned, can see that they do not apply skepticism where it is amply warranted in the details which make up their version of the events.

Really, after all, you ought to have recognized this.  That you apparently have not, at this late date, with all that has been done and published to demonstrate the unsoundness of the conspiracy by those in or with ties to official U.S. Government entities is very much to your discredit.
It suggests that, like the 9/11 conspiricists, this site's editors are only too eager and ready to find or to accept any theory, provided it's one which damns as outrageous and malicious the workings of official U.S. Government entities.  I am hard-pressed to find a better and more flattering explanation for your having put this stuff up for your readers' attention.
Admin
Admin
Sep 22, 2016 1:27 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Our approach to the 9/11 question has been explicated clearly. You can find it here.
As several commenters have pointed out the idea of a homogeneous entity of batshit “truthers” is a construct. In reality those who question the official story do so for a variety of reasons and with variety of motives. Some are indeed crazy “conspiracy theorists” who advocate complex or unproven narratives to explain the events of 9/11. Some, however, are scientists and professionals who simply have doubts about the thoroughness or reliability of the NIST report and are calling for a new inquiry.
What value lies in conflating these two positions? Why is the lunatic element the only one consistently addressed, and why is no time given to the rational questioners and seekers of truth?
That’s the premise of our 9/11 series, in which we endeavour to remove the spin, the ad hominem attacks, the hand-waving, the appeals to authority, and above all the inclusive dismissal of every “truther” as a deluded lay person with a theory to sell, and to allow the science to stand or fall on its own merits.
We remind everyone here frequently that the official explanation of the collapse of the three towers is presented by NIST only as a hypothesis. NIST doesn’t claim proof and indeed it can’t since most of the hard evidence was already destroyed before the investigation commenced.
Let’s remember that interrogating a hypothesis is a normal and everyday event as well as a scientific necessity. It’s only appropriate that NIST’s conclusions of “probable” cause should be questioned and even opposed by scientists with differing views. The fact this completely rational activity has been presented in this case as something innately irrational and the sole preserve of crazy people or charlatans indicates a level of politicisation that has nothing to do with science.

Nick G.
Nick G.
Sep 22, 2016 1:30 PM
Reply to  proximity1

Thanks for your expansion on your earlier post.
Can I ask who “they” are who you state automatically apportion blame to the “authorities”? I assume you don’t mean the many thousands of 9/11 researchers who have open minds and only wish for an independent, transparent and scientifically rigorous study, given the countless troubling obfuscations, errors and lack of proper procedure surrounding the original investigations?

proximity1
proximity1
Sep 21, 2016 11:50 AM

I’ve tried several times to post comments–some with my arguments and views, some simply seconding the views posted (from the start) by Jerome Fryer. But none of my attempts succeeded. (I’m trying this from a differrent source to see if the problem stems from a problem with my usual computer connection.) So this is a “test.”

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 4:04 PM
Reply to  proximity1

I can see your comment.
Jerome has not just been “arguing the facts”, he’s been denying plenty also and confusing others.
Jerome stubbornly believes the fact NIST set the thermal conductivity of the steel in its models to zero did not adversely affect the model’s outcome. It has been pointed out to him many times (by me and others here) that it absolutely WOULD adversely affect the outcome in ways that invalidated the model’s findings.
He seems to have conceded this point by default now

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 1:48 AM

How do you come up with that?
Do you even understand what the models are? That they are models that have been adjusted to reproduce actual, real world, physical testing? Most of the NIST NCSTAR 1-5F document is dedicated to those physical tests, and how well the models align with the physical testing.
Read the document, and stop making ignorant assertions.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 22, 2016 1:53 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Sorry, Jerome, but your posts to the ISF reveal by your own admission it’s you who doesn’t “understand what the models are,” because you went to that forum and explicitly asked those guys to explain it to you!
You’re so desperate not to see the obvious you’re making yourself wilfully blind.
Think. Just think for a moment. You claim NIST produced a model based on its own physical tests. Ok, let’s accept this is true. But we also know NIST assigned a thermal conductivity of zero to the steel in its models.
So, this means either:
(1) NIST found the steel in their physical experiments had a thermal conductivity of zero, or
(2) They added this property to their model post hoc in order to alter the outcome of their virtual fire from its physical counterpart.
Which do you think is more likely? That NIST found steel with a thermal conductivity of zero in its physical tests, or that NIST altered the thermal conductivity of the steel in it models in order to make the models do something the physical tests didn’t do?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 23, 2016 5:46 AM

Your reading comprehension is terrible if you believe that I asked for the models to be explained to me.
Quote what I wrote, and explain how you came by that reading.

jack
jack
Sep 21, 2016 9:12 AM

It’s a shame that when someone comes on here with a viewpoint alternative to what most other people are posting, like Jerome Fryer, he gets abuse below the line, and now patronising mocking above the line. As far as I can see he’s largely tried to argue the facts.
Not really conducive to an interesting or effective discussion. and not such an interesting website after all, if that’s the standard.

Admin
Admin
Sep 21, 2016 10:43 AM
Reply to  jack

Jerome isn’t being mocked. Jerome is commended for wanting to find the truth. The ISF are being pointed up as practising pseudoskepticism on this issue, and perhaps they are being mocked very slightly as a result.

jack
jack
Sep 21, 2016 12:04 PM
Reply to  Admin

“Shhh…Listen….that thunking sound you hear is BTC’s heart dropping into his boots at the ghastly realisation these people he looked up to as uber-cool, uber-informed scientifically-trained skeptics know less about the NIST report than he does. ”
I guess we have different definitions of the term “mocked”.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 12:08 PM
Reply to  jack

I don’t care, really. There are more significant issues than impoliteness.
(And I don’t waste words on subtlety or flattery, so sauce for the goose.)

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 12:05 PM
Reply to  Admin

“And we agree with BTC in one thing”
But I thought you wanted to know the ‘full story’? Both the most probable explanations that are generally agreed, and the least probable.
When is your article on the ‘holograms and missiles’ hypothesis going up?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 3:35 PM
Reply to  jack

You need to review this video to educate yourself on this issue:
https://youtu.be/kQFKtI6gn9Y

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 7:35 AM

By the way, you should probably keep tabs on that ISF thread.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=311955
Catte’s article is a bit of a misrepresentation.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 8:10 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Jerome, really? These are the people you model your thinking on? Grow the fuck up.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 4:33 AM

“Jeff Fryer here, but we’ll call him “boggis the cat” because that’s what he calls himself in the discussion featured below”
Who is this “Jeff”? He sounds like he might be someone who has a fixation with the finer details.
“– is an indefatigable believer in the infallibility of the NIST fire-collapse theory.”
Maybe “Jeff” read the NIST documents, and wondered why nobody in the ‘truther’ community is able to comprehend them? Did “Jeff” have a go at explaining the ‘truther’ errors, and putting the quote-mined sentences into their context?
Has “Jeff” also been posting examples of a non-edited WTC 7 collapse sequence in contrast with the ‘truther’ variant?
Maybe questioning why the ‘truther’ narrative is that the collapses were avowedly ‘symetrical’, yet also not symetrical because ‘explosives’ were used to propel enormous section of the towers hundreds of meters, and suggesting that this is a good example of the irreconcilable contradictions running through the various ‘truther’ hypotheses?
“Jeff” has the same surname as me. I wonder if we’re related?

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 4:52 AM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Oooops!

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 7:28 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

I wonder who Jeff is, and what he did to upset Catte.
(Speculative — I have no evidence to support that conclusion. Unless accrued life experience counts.)

b1c1jones
b1c1jones
Sep 20, 2016 11:58 PM

Great total misreading of my comments. I fully understand NIST, I was just warning about the level of technical detail and obtaining clarification on a question. If you want to debate 9/11 with me, feel free to come on over to ISF and debate.
By the way, I and others have detailed debunking there, you just have to dig around. If you have a specific question for me, ask it yourself.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 2:48 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

I’d go over and debate Mr. b1c1jones, but having taken a quick glance at all the solidly “peer-reviewed” scientific literature archived and posts over at ISF, the task appears to me too daunting. Maybe someone else might want to have a go. Good luck and do let us know how the debates turn out.

Admin
Admin
Sep 21, 2016 10:48 AM
Reply to  b1c1jones

If you fully understand NIST could you possibly do as Jerome Fryer asked on your forum and confirm his understanding that NIST’s decision to assign a zero thermal conductivity of the steel in its models was correct? It would be very good to get some clarification on this. The discussion can be found here
https://off-guardian.org/2016/09/17/why-did-nist-decide-wtc-steel-could-not-conduct-heat/

john miller
john miller
Sep 20, 2016 11:03 PM

“rebuts the Harrit et al thermite finding, or any other aspect of the “truther scientist” research, we really want to see it.” — they did not find thermite. — [citation needed – OffG ed]
Does anyone read the paper by Jones and Harrit. The samples of dust did not match the energy level of themite [citation needed -OffG ed.], this is chemistry, and if the samples don’t match the energy of thermite, they are not thermite. Ironically paper has more energy than thermite, and the office fires in the WTC had the heat energy of over 2700 Tons of thermite prior to collapse; the office fires are more heat energy than 2,700 Tons of thermite . Read the Jones Harrit paper which they had to publish in a vanity journal, not a real journal, but a journal where you can pay to publish junk.
Here is the real problem with claiming thermite was used on 9/11, there is no evidence, zero damage to WTC steel by thermite, and zero iron left from thermite reactions. Where is the evidence. [what about the “eutectic” nature of the steel observed by FEMA, could tis be a by-product of a thermitic reaction? — OffG ed]
If you read the paper, it offers nothing but speculation, no real evidence. Did anyone read the paper, the DSC curve does not match. How can this be? They present a study of dust, failed to do the right test to match the dust to anything, then make up the conclusion. [citation needed – OffG ed.]
Anyone with a background in chemistry and armed with critical thinking skills can see it is speculation based on some stuff to fool those who can’t do chemistry, or see graphs don’t match.
There is no need to refute Harrit’s claims, the study is not verified, the peer review was by fellow 9/11 truthers, and there is no damage to WTC steel by thermite. No evidence thermite was used. Iron microspheres are found in fires where iron bearing substance are, and are not proof of thermite. [citation needed – OffG ed.]
There are no claims made by 9/11 truth that have evidence – don’t get upset 9/11 truth claims are bogus; it is a fact. [citation needed – OffG ed.] If there was evidence for any 9/11 truth claims, long ago, like 14.5 years ago, the biggest Pulitzer since Watergate would have been awarded to a newspaper presenting and exposing the big inside job, etc, etc, that 9/11 truth is pushing.. But there is no evidence.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 20, 2016 11:09 PM
Reply to  john miller

How true. If the scientific evidence laid out by AE911Truth, for instance, was proved to be correct. The entire establishment if the western world would be finished. They’d have to throw their hands up, admit the truth and we could all run unmolested into their offices and hang the filthy bastards. This is how the real world is.
Thanks for your pearls of wisdom, [ content-free ad hom deleted – OffG ed.]

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 20, 2016 11:39 PM
Reply to  john miller

“Here is the real problem with claiming thermite was used on 9/11, there is no evidence, zero damage to WTC steel by thermite, and zero iron left from thermite reactions. Where is the evidence.”
Dear Mr. john miller the pilot,
Do take a moment and wipe the spittle from the side of your mouth, and do show a bit more respect for yourself and take the dingle berries out from between your teeth when speaking, for no one can understand you with a mouth so full of s*it — Oooops, did I . . .? I did, didn’t I? Dang, it’s so hard not to . . .
Okay, permit me to make a new beginning:
Mr. miller the pilot makes a lot of assertions without a single reference to any authoritative source to back up anything of what he is asserting, and since he claims himself to be a pilot, we will take it that he is no chemist, but nevertheless would like us to accept his word on everything he spouts without any need for him to substantiate it.
Since he does not appeal to any ‘expert’ opinion or analysis, he is appealing to his own authority as a pilot, or maybe only to himself as Mr. john miller. That would seem to make his argument a variant of that fallacy known as appealing to authority, but in this case since he appeals to his own authority, he is committing an “appeal to narcissism.”
Be that as that may be, let me appeal on Harrit et al.’s behalf to Mark Bassile’s expertise, which in matters of chemistry is considerably more than that of a mere pilot. So here is an example of what Mr. john the pilot would characterize as a total absence of evidence:

john miller
john miller
Sep 21, 2016 6:25 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

All you have is appeal to authority, not evidence. There is no evidence of damage to WTC by thermite. I took a chemical engineering course when I got my engineering degree, and did great in chemistry in high school and college; I earned my masters in engineering in the 80s.
No one needs a degree in engineering, chemistry, or physics to see/understand the paper by Jones and Harrit does not prove thermite was in WTC dust. The DSC does not match, why?
The energy in the samples of so called thermite, don’t match thermite. This is chemistry, the energy should match if it is thermite.
Show me the damage to WTC by thermite. Where is it?
Where is the Pulitzer for finding thermite; did all the newspapers see there was no evidence?
15 years, all the claims here in the 9/11 revisited were debunked on 9/11, and are evidence free.
pilot and engineer – and I am ordinary –

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 6:55 AM
Reply to  john miller

“The energy in the samples of so called thermite, don’t match thermite.”
Citation, please, i.e., the proof that Harrit et al. did not find unreacted energetic particles in the dust. Harrit et al. do no claim “thermite” as such, but nano-energetic materials or any other name you care to give it.
See Harrit’s discussion in the following, starting @ 25 minutes and 23 seconds on to a few minutes beyond. Are you claiming that Harrit is fabricating his findings as he here relates them? If you are, you are making serious accusations of misconduct and scientific fraud. Would you be willing to stand by them in a court of law? If yes, provide detailed evidence for what you claim. The entire video is worth your time, by the way:

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 20, 2016 9:30 PM

. . . and by the way, Catte, that was certainly a very insightful and kind piece of work that you did. Not many would have bothered. Much respect to you, Madame.

johnschoneboom
johnschoneboom
Sep 20, 2016 9:04 PM

Catte: Just thanks. You made my day. I raise my nice mug of hot cocoa to you.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 20, 2016 10:52 PM
Reply to  johnschoneboom

Funny, we posted essentially the same thing only moments apart. But you said it first. 🙂

johnschoneboom
johnschoneboom
Sep 20, 2016 11:40 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

We both got a “thumbs down” vote for it too! I wonder who that could have been… 🙂

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 20, 2016 11:41 PM
Reply to  johnschoneboom

LOL

michaelk
michaelk
Sep 20, 2016 8:45 PM

The scientist who says he found traces of thermite, even something called nano-thermite, in samples of dust found at the site of the World Trade Centre collapse… is Niels Harrit. He’s a Danish guy who spent forty years teaching chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Harrit has retired from lecturing.
He took the samples of dust to the lab at the chemistry department and analysed them. What was in the dust, what was it composed of exactly. He says he found thermite in the dust, small flakes of the stuff which is a rusty red colour. He also found tiny round metalic spheres in the dust, suppsedly coming from vaporised steel, aluminum. This may be a ‘intresting’ as the thermite find. What power or energy source in an office fire or collapse has the ability to vaporise metal? It’s yet another puzzle about 9/11.
Is Harrit completely nuts? Is he simply making it all up? Is he mistaken about the thermite find in the dust? Has anyone else tried to repeat his findings? Has anyone else found thermite in the dust or even bothered to look for it?
What’s odd is that, as far as I can tell, nobody has attempted to question his results… scientifically. None of the newspapers or media outlets have bothered to conduct their own investigations into the character of the dust. With all their resources one would think this would clear the matter up. Either Niels Harrit is wrong, mistaken, making it up to fill in time during retirement, or he’s right. The dust contains traces of the explosive thermite. How did it get there? Is there another plausible explanation. It’s risky for Niels Harrit to make it up, put his reputation on the line like this, because it shouldn’t be that hard for his critics to prove him wrong by doing their own unbiased analysis of the dust.

DavidKNZ
DavidKNZ
Sep 20, 2016 11:51 PM
Reply to  michaelk

Michaelk:
The original thermitic material analysis was by 9 authors and can be seen at
http://benthamopen.com/contents/pdf/TOCPJ/TOCPJ-2-7.pdf
It is a well documented and carefully detailed scientific study.
Here’s the abstract for you:
Abstract: We have discovered distinctive red/gray chips in all the samples we have studied of the dust produced by the destruction of the World Trade Center. Examination of four of these samples, collected from separate sites, is reported in this paper. These red/gray chips show marked similarities in all four samples. One sample was collected by a Manhattan resident about ten minutes after the collapse of the second WTC Tower. two the next day, and a fourth about a week later. The properties of these chips were analyzed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (XEDS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The red material contains grains approximately 100 nm across which arc largely iron oxide, while aluminum is contained in tiny plate-like structures. Separation of components using methyl ethyl ketone demonstrated that elemental aluminum is present. The iron oxide and aluminum are intimately mixed in the red material. When ignited in a DSC device the chips exhibit large but narrow exotherms occurring at approximately 430 °C. far below the normal ignition temperature for conventional thermite. Numerous iron-rich spheres are clearly observed in the residue following the ignition of these peculiar red/gray chips. The red portion of these chips is found to be an unreacted thermitic material and highly energetic.
although I’m sure your quest for truth will lead you to checkout the original. 🙂
And should you think the academic life is skirmish free, you might like to checkout
http://www.scientistsfor911truth.org/docs/Harrit_PileniResignation.pdf
The search for truth is not without its risks
🙂

Willem
Willem
Sep 20, 2016 8:37 PM

Actually, I hated the philosophy texts about the phenomenology of Husserl, Heidegger and Sartre, that I once had to learn by heart. I failed horribly for that exam, so don’t take my word for anything that I say below as matter of fact…
Still I recall a couple of things about the method that Phenemenologists use, and that I also use as a poor man’s solution for not being trained as a civil engineer, yet willing to understand what 911 is all about.
If I understood above text from Catte correctly, a problem with discussing 911 and why the WTC collapsed is the distinction between scepticism vs pseudoscepticism for people who are not civil engineers (but lay people). Not being a civil engineer myself I fully concur with that problem. That is, when I read technical issues about how the WTC collapsed (official vs truther version), which authority should I believe?
Since I do not like to believe too many authorities, I would not like to draw any conclusion. But unfortunately, that will lead to the conclusion that I (and everybody who behaves like me) have to live with the official version, as the official version has much more possibilities to push its version into the history books as compared with the truther version.
Here is where phenomenology comes in, which method is about ‘experience’. Experience is much less objective (some would call it ‘soft’) than the method of matter of fact is, but some parts of the method are useful and objective tools.
The first tool is trying to find what happens to one experience if you compare it with another similar experience.
So If I go to my family physician for some illness that I am experiencing and she (my family physician is a she) prescribes me some treatment for this illness, I have to believe that she made the right judgment. However, since she gave me the diagnosis of my illness and the name of the treatment that I have to take, I am given the chance to check at home if the diagnosis and treatment makes sense to me. Actually, this is a very healthy thing to do, and something that my family physician encourages me to do. It can happen that when I am home and read through all the available information that is present about my diagnosis and treatment, that I doubt the validity of my family physician’s judgment. If that happens, the normal procedure is that I make a new appointment with her, and discuss my doubts with her. Next, she will answer my questions about my illness and treatment and probably will convince me with logical arguments why she was right and I was wrong.
It would be very strange though if she would call me a ‘conspiracy theorist’, ‘nutcase’ or whatever that precludes any discussion about my diagnosis and treatment with her, just because I have to believe her judgment. If that would happen, I would be very concerned that my family physician is having an illness herself.
If you compare that situation with the diagnosis and treatment of 911 by the official authorities and how they respond to 911 truthers, I would conclude that something is seriously wrong with the official authorities.
The second tool is trying to define the core of an experience by taking something out of it.
So in my daily living I am a researcher, who loves his job. What experience is causing me to love my job? Is it because of the topic that I am researching, maybe? – To that question, the answer is no. I switched from research topic often, and it really doesn’t matter to me what I am researching (as long as I am researching). But what would matter, is when someone would say to me that I am allowed to research everything, except one thing. If that happens, I would start to dislike my job very quickly. And that would be reason enough for me to look for another job, where there truly (or still) is an open research environment.
It is the open environment (research anything you like) which makes me love my job.
And this is also the reason why I dislike the research of 911 by the officials, which keep things that really need to be researched classified, or mixed-up, or otherwise closed for true research.
The problem with the official 911 story is that not all questions are allowed to receive an answer. Some questions are not even allowed to be asked (see James Corbett short movie on that issue here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yuC_4mGTs98).
The third tool is trying to define the core of an experience by adding something to it.
(And this is really what I learned the last couple of weeks at OffG about the 911 truther movement, i.e. that it is a movement).
So what else makes doing research so much fun. When I thought about 911 truthers, I honestly have to say that I thought that these were people who made up their theories alone, at home in their attic or basement, and then published their theories on obscure Websites. If I would have to do my research in the same way, I would fail horribly. But this is not what the 911 truther movement is, or so it appears to me now. There is dialogue and conversation, scientific studies, pro- and (not so many) contra arguments about the truthfullness of the 911 truther movement, there is room for thought, sceptiscism, debate and it leads to progress, with the little help from a journal that gives the movement a podium. This is similar to the research field that I work in, and where any respected research field works in: in a society in which many people work on all kinds of different theories, hypotheses, experiments and report their results to their society. Which is fun (much better than doing your research in your attic at home, all alone), leads to progress, and can actually change things for the better. And although the latter not often happens, as doing good research is tough and requires some luck, it happens every once in a while. For this I believe that the 911 truther movement is a truly interesting movement, and one that may be interesting to be connected with. Even if one is not a civil engineer, like me.

Questions
Questions
Sep 20, 2016 7:44 PM

” If a scientist claims he has found thermite residue in the WTC dust, how easily do non-scientists evaluate that claim?”
First the scientist, careful to keep the sample as untainted as possible, takes alleged dust sample to reputable lab for testing. Then they publish the results. No need for further speculation.
Fun fact: this has never happened in Trutherville.
This article appears to be fluff designed to give Trutherism the veneer of “just asking questions” credibility. Been there, done that. This is an utter waste of time:
“He even went to the International Skeptics Forum, a place he evidently respects, to invite people to come here and debunk the criticisms of the NIST report we’ve been publishing. ”
Why? Who needs to invite random internet posters to have a battle of wits with? This website sounds more and more like click bait. If you want to fill your site with woo, fine. Power to you. It’s a free country. But don’t complain about lack of traffic, or worse, try to rope people from another forum to boost your stats. That just makes the owners look like a pathetic fly by night marketing fraud , reminiscent of the odious CIT gang.
NOTE FROM ADMIN no one from OffG went to the ISF forum or “tried to rope” anyone in. The person you are referring to is Jerome Fryer, who is not connected to OffG and who visited your forum specifically ask for help in supporting the NIST theory of fire-induced collapse. He is on “your side”. You need to read more carefully. (PS:try to avoid content-free ad hom; we do remove repeat offences that get in the way of proper discussion)

Willem
Willem
Sep 20, 2016 8:18 PM
Reply to  Questions

Typically, ad hominem…

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 20, 2016 9:14 PM
Reply to  Willem

From top to bottom . . . a badly woven tapestry of ‘ad homs.’
And he has never heard of Neils Harrit, apparently. But he is informed on absolutely every aspect of 9/11 . . .
. . . Oh, but there I go again . . . Resisting the temptation to respond in kind will be like breaking the nicotine habit . . . Cessation will probably not be instantaneous and expect a few moments of genuine crankiness . . .

Questions
Questions
Sep 21, 2016 12:54 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

And he has never heard of Neils Harrit, apparently.
Harrit is a con man. Like Jones he was involved in the fraudulent Bentham Paper published by an equally fraudulent vanity press.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153478
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Open-Access-Publisher-Appears/47717
[the links you post do not seem to offer any source for your claim the Harrit paper is “fraudulent”; please indicate a source for this claim – OffG ed.]
Here’s Harrit sounding, um, not very balanced:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090815063822/http://www.russiatoday.com/Politics/2009-07-09/Did_nano-thermite_take_down_the_WTC.html?fullstory
RT: When you say “in abundance,” how much do you mean?
Niels Harrit: Tons! Hundreds of tons! Many, many, many tons!

But he is informed on absolutely every aspect of 9/11 . . .
Please point out where I have said this.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 2:20 AM
Reply to  Questions

I followed up your links, there, Mr. Questions, and it did take me a moment or two to get my bearings. So, on the one hand, you refer me to a virtually incomprehensible post written by one CMATRIX, Mr. critical thinker, dated 10th September 2009, 01:59 PM, whose basic argument is, well,
“The paper is bunk because it was published in a non-peer-reviewed vanity publication.”
And then, as with your second link, the topic of the post veers into the issue of peer-review, to its satisfaction demonstrating how the process at Bentham Science Publishers is broken. However, the purport of your second is, to quote the article, to point to a couple of examples to demonstrate that,
“The medical-research industry is under growing pressure to improve its ethical standards. Similar pressure has extended to peer-reviewed medical journals, after Elsevier, a publishing leader, admitted to publishing at least nine fake journals from 2000 to 2005”
So you see, it’s not just the peer-reviewed Bentham Science Publishers that is broken, but “peer-reviewed journals” in general, that is to say, the medical-research industry taken as a whole, eh.
So the genius to whom you refer us, “CMATRIX, Mr. critical thinker,” has essentially produced a self-refuting post that a) disqualifies one peer-reviewed journal, on the basis of demonstrated sloppy medical review processes, characteristic of the entire MEDICAL-RESEARCH INDUSTRY, as publishing anything worthy of anyone’s attention, whatever it may be; b) insists on the trustworthiness of the sacrosanct peer-review process as the only thing that can validate the truth or falsehood of any scientific claim; and c) quotes material that raises questions about the peer-review process as the gold standard for verifying the validity of all scientific claims.
Your last link leads nowhere. But meh, eh.
For someone who seems to insist on credentials and the peer-review process, you are rather sloppy in vetting who you trust to defend your claims.
But he is informed on absolutely every aspect of 9/11 . . .
“Please point out where I have said this.”
Well, Mr. Question, it is in the tone of your voice and implied in this little innocuous phrase that you casually threw out, eh:
“Fun fact: this has never happened in Trutherville.”
In order to be able to make such a sweeping claim, you need to be intimate with ALL of the documented claims and counterclaims in the documented arena of 9/11, don’t you?
You cute little troll, you . . .

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 2:29 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Oh, and I forgot to mention that the links that are supposed to be the means by which I can verify whether Mr. critical thinker knows how to read and properly present what he claims to have read and understood don’t work very well and, furthermore, there is this to explain why notes [7] & [8] are simply without reference: [links removed due to JREF policy]
Yes, you really raise the bar quite high in terms of what you expect from your sources, Mr. Question.
Did I mention how adorable you are in pretending to be all “growed-up.”

Questions
Questions
Sep 21, 2016 12:38 AM
Reply to  Willem

That phrase doesn’t mean what you think it does. And even then, it’s not always fallacious:
“Ad hominem reasoning is not always fallacious, for example, when it relates to the credibility of statements of fact ”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
Regarding questions about the purpose of this website, which is perfectly fair in light of the apparent commitment to dredge up long debunked fringe alt-right conspiracies, it seems the owners believe they were sabotaged:
http://off-guardian.org/about-2/
“Update April 2015. Off-Guardian.org is the successor citizen-media organization created by the three founding members of the original OffGuardian site. As you may know, our original site suffered an act of internal sabotage on April 13-14, 2015, when it was summarily closed down on us. Fortunately, we had a back-up copy of the whole site made only a couple of days before this took place and have been able to reconstitute Off-Guardian immediately. While we might never be able to determine with any finality whether this was an act of a mentally unstable person or of someone with an undisclosed agenda, the attempt to silence us failed. On here, neither the powers that be nor saboteurs can take us down, slander, or shut us up.”
This is absurd. There’s no reason to “shut these people up”. Everyone is free to be a fool online if they wish. If someone wanted to “shut them up”, it would be a simple matter of contacting their hosting through whois and use whatever blunt legal tool exists to shut the website down using some “terrorist” pretext.
No, the more probable explanation is someone with admin powe changed their mind. Perhaps they’d been misinformed about the purpose of the website. They wanted nothing to do with it, and pulled the plug. Trying to imply someone was “mentally unstable” or an “agent” is both abelist and contradictory. There is established legal recourse if someone has stolen a website. Mysterious speculation only panders to a conspiracy world view. Apparently the owners believe they are victims of censorship:
“Try to point out certain aspects of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, the west’s relationship with neo-nazis in Kiev, or Washington’s dichotomous funding/bombing of ISIS, and you may find you are suddenly and inexplicably breaching “Community Standards and Participation Guidelines.” Ask for explanation of this and you will likely be met with silence. Err in the same way twice and you will find yourself banned and every word you ever wrote whisked away down the Memory Hole.
We believe this creeping, insidious censorship is highly dangerous, the more so for being unacknowledged in the heart of our flagship liberal newspaper.
This site is our response. Every contributor here has been censored by the Guardian at some point. And alongside our own articles and reprints we will be publishing selections of comments removed from CiF – so that you can see for yourselves if they have been taken down for breaching the famous “community guidelines” or simply censored for unacceptable opinion.”

http://web.archive.org/web/20150311183005/http://offguardian.org/about/
I actually applaud this move. Go start your own website. But please don’t cry “censorship” because you can’t abide by the TOU or try to drive traffic to your website creating a fake “battle of conspiracies long debunked”. Either you have something to offer or you don’t.
There is a reason why whatever complaints the owners have with the Guardian, readership isn’t abandoning the Guardian in droves to come here. There is no conspiracy. No one, much less “agents”, cares enough to sabotage you. Feel free to indulge in woo fantasies. And people like me will feel free to move on.

Questions
Questions
Sep 21, 2016 1:03 AM
Reply to  Willem

This is deeply ironic: my comment correcting you about what an ad hom is has been removed. So has another reply in this thread. For a website that started supposedly because they felt the Guardian was “censoring” them, this is a bit of a surprise.
Enjoy your sandbox.

Admin
Admin
Sep 21, 2016 1:46 AM
Reply to  Questions

This is deeply ironic: my comment correcting you about what an ad hom is has been removed. So has another reply in this thread. For a website that started supposedly because they felt the Guardian was “censoring” them, this is a bit of a surprise.

Your comments were not “removed”, the spam filter automatically holds comments containing more than 2 urls for pre-moderation. It states that quite clearly in the comment form.
Perhaps you should read more carefully.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 5:05 AM
Reply to  Admin

“Perhaps you should read more carefully.”
Lessons available from “Jeff”.
😀

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 20, 2016 8:58 PM
Reply to  Questions

A comment from Wankerville. The poster demands official scientific authorities expose an officially sanctioned lie. We know how these things work even if you (pretend) you don’t.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 20, 2016 9:21 PM
Reply to  Questions

That’s an interesting set of double standards you’re using there. Where are the fully peer-reviewed scientific research publications which have independently analysed NIST’s methodology, data, models, experiments, etc and have agreed with and endorsed their findings and conclusions?

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 20, 2016 10:49 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

You should take some time out and study the meaning of the word “independent”.
It is obvious that you would have called Blair’s evidence for Saddam’s WMD independent and voted accordingly. Some people just can’t help being stupid and endorsing mass murdering degenerates. However, it is clear you are different.
I’m sure you, in contradiction to all common sense and good judgement … mean well (not).

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 21, 2016 12:30 AM

I’m sorry but I’m confused here by your comment. Is it directed at me? And if so why?
Perhaps you’re under the mistaken impression that my above comment was directed at yours (which appeared immediately above mine) whereas my comment was not in reply to yours at all, but was in fact in reply to ‘Questions’ comment, a few notches up from mine.
This indented arrangement of comments can be rather confusing at times, and it’s not clear at first glance sometimes which comments are in reply to others, so maybe you made a simple mistake.
I hope that is the explanation here, otherwise I am perplexed at your reaction which appears to be unnecessarily aggressive, presumptuous and rude.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 21, 2016 5:07 AM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

No, I don’t think it is intended for you, CloudSlilcer. It is directed, I’m pretty sure, at Mr. Questions.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 22, 2016 6:39 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Thanks for the reassurance Norman. I’m not convinced though, since his comment is indented immediately under mine rather than aligning with other replies under Mr Questions comments. It would have been nice if Mr physicsandmathsrevision had replied himself to clear things up a bit.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 22, 2016 6:44 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

You may be correct. He does seem to be erratically temperamental at times.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 22, 2016 11:56 PM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

Yup, that’s true. Never mind – it applies to all of us I suppose, at times. 🙂

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 5:03 AM
Reply to  Questions

This bit of the above article: “He even went to the International Skeptics Forum, a place he evidently respects, to invite people to come here and debunk the criticisms of the NIST report we’ve been publishing. ” is misleading.
I asked if the moderators (and editors) if they wanted me to ask, and they replied: “We have invited contributions from all sides. May I suggest you invite someone on the forum to submit to us. Or why not submit something for ATL yourself?” (Emphasis mine.)
This response from the moderator / editor is under the “Why did NIST decide steel could not conduct heat” article, under my first direct comment.

Admin
Admin
Sep 21, 2016 11:03 AM
Reply to  Questions

is it not the case that the dust samples collected by Jones were offered to any laboratories for replication? And haven’t other independent researchers confirmed the Harrit et al results? Please do correct this if we have it wrong.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 12:35 PM
Reply to  Admin

Here’s a fairly short view on that:
http://www.911myths.com/html/traces_of_thermate_at_the_wtc.html

Conclusion
It seems we can’t be completely sure that these samples are from the WTC, and there’s no way to accurately assess whether they might have been contaminated.
The elements that Professor Jones reports finding have already been discovered by other WTC dust surveys, who for the most part don’t seem surprised by their presence. It seems likely that, in all cases, there are other WTC sources that can deliver far more of these elements than you would ever see from thermite/ thermate.
There’s also no clear evidence that the suspect elements are available in proportions that match what you’d expect from a thermite/ thermate reaction. And some products you might imagine would be produced, aren’t reported at all.
Proof of thermite/ thermate, then? No. Just assumptions, and avoidance of alternative explanations for the presence of these elements. That’s just fine when you’re telling an audience what they want to believe, but convincing the rest of the world is going to take considerably more evidence than is displayed here.

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 4:14 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

Admin asked if Jones’ dust samples had been made freely available, this longish quote you add in reply says nothing about that at all.
Also statements such as “there’s also no clear evidence that the suspect elements are available in proportions that match what you’d expect from a thermite/ thermate reaction” are valueless without amounts, comparisons and citations.
A scientific paper needs to be rebutted point by point on the terms in which it is written.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 1:50 AM

Read the linked source.

Norman Pilon
Norman Pilon
Sep 20, 2016 5:57 PM

My first reaction upon reading this, since it seems to confirm Jerome’s sincerity in his convictions and purpose, is that I have been a total jerk with him. So I sincerely apologize to him.
I would also add, not by way of trying to excuse in any way my own behavior, but that’s the problem when ‘ad hominem attacs’ begin to enter into any exchange. Very quickly, as a mode of argumentation, it tends to infect everyone no matter how committed to the principles of rational debate. But I already knew that and should have better restrained myself. I hope to do better going forward although I can’t promise that I can forgo every opportunity to laugh at least a little at all of us, without discrimination.
So @ Jerome:
my sincere apology for having now and again been perhaps a bit too hard on you. On the other hand, you do strike me as being pretty thick-skinned and resilient. I will refrain from openly speculating on the reasons why that might be ( — I’m joking with that parting shot, of course, in case you think that I’m reverting back into my truly uncharacteristic nastiness. I’m not.)
BTW: And to think that I had even come up with a title for your anthology — which I still think you should cobble together — that I will now desist from sharing with you and the rest of the people reading this comment.
Regards,
–N

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 4:42 AM
Reply to  Norman Pilon

“So @ Jerome:
my sincere apology for having now and again been perhaps a bit too hard on you.”
Apology not required, but accepted, Norman.
The problem with diverting into ad-hominem is that it can’t lead to anything useful. If I respond with a similar type of counter, then it devolves into a contest to see who can be the most unpleasant (with or without resort to wit or other mitigating factors). If I don’t, then your arguments are weakened because people assume that you’re a jerk.
“On the other hand, you do strike me as being pretty thick-skinned and resilient. I will refrain from openly speculating on the reasons why that might be ( — I’m joking with that parting shot, of course, in case you think that I’m reverting back into my truly uncharacteristic nastiness. I’m not.)”
I have an ex-wife. That may or may not be germane to your speculation.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 20, 2016 5:21 PM

Excellent research and analysis.
I have long sinced stopped bothering to argue with people who peddle the NIST line. There have been shiploads of trolls active in defending 9/11 lies since I got involved in the issue in 2005. These loathsome individuals are mere disruptors.
For anyone with half a brain the truth about the 9/11 collapses … i.e. that were controlled demolitions … becomes OBVIOUS once you become aware of the collapse times or, alternatively, when one simply watches original footage of the WTC7 collapse. A building falling symettrically into its own footprint like that is being demolished. The visible pre-collapse of the core (see the raised centre above the top floor) is an absolute give-away.
it is impossible to respect anyone who joins online debates to bat for the official narrative. Once people have studied the issue only morons (or Hasbara liars) are capable of not believing their own eyes.
Here’s the reality in a 2 minute nutshell … “This is an Orange”:

BigB
BigB
Sep 20, 2016 6:30 PM

Love this video – LMFAO – got tears in my eyes!

Questions
Questions
Sep 20, 2016 7:49 PM
Reply to  BigB

Tears in your eyes? Why? Is where you’re at very dusty?

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 20, 2016 9:07 PM
Reply to  Questions

Maybe so. You never know – it maybe WTC explosively pulverised dust, that was actually just caused by fire and gravity alone.
On the other hand, the whole thing is enough to make any normal human being cry.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 10:12 AM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

“You never know – it maybe WTC explosively pulverised dust”
Mostly from crushed gypsum, would be my thought.
Why you need enough explosives to turn the concrete to ‘dust’ is one of those weirder parts of the ‘truther’ assertion.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 20, 2016 10:33 PM
Reply to  Questions

Just give up [edited for content-free abuse – OffG ed.]. You’ll always lose on this one. Only a calculated and hopeful silence serves your cause.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 20, 2016 10:32 PM

Great video. Thanks.
“The starting point in science is observation.” – David Chandler
Here’s another video showing the explosive collapse of the north tower.
When we look carefully, what do we see?
There is far more going on here than a simple gravitational collapse.

physicsandmathsrevision
physicsandmathsrevision
Sep 20, 2016 10:37 PM
Reply to  CloudSlicer

You’re right but there’s no point worrying about this and getting involved in divisions amongst ourselves. I think people like Julie Wood stir this disruptive pot. Don’t go there. It doesn’t matter. Inside Job. Nuff said.

CloudSlicer
CloudSlicer
Sep 21, 2016 12:33 AM

You’ll get no arguments from me about Judy Wood. The less said about her ideas, the better.

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 21, 2016 5:08 AM

There’s that careful ‘truther’ edit again.
I guess the east penthouse collapsing into the internal structure seven seconds prior to the start of the ‘collapse’ shown must be a problem. Maybe a massive engineering block falling through the middle of WTC 7 did enough damage that explosives weren’t necessary?

Moriarty's Left Sock
Moriarty's Left Sock
Sep 21, 2016 4:20 PM
Reply to  Jerome Fryer

How do you see the fact the penthouse collapses first providing additional support for the NIST theory? How does it invalidate (NIST’s own) observation of free fall for 2.25 secs? How does it help explain how asymmetrical damage would cause symmetrical collapse across the entire width of the building in a near-perfect horizontal ?

Jerome Fryer
Jerome Fryer
Sep 22, 2016 1:54 AM

All of what you cite is not evidence for controlled demolition.
You have been bamboozled by irrelevant details, and errors of fact (the best example being that WTC 7 partially fell on a nearby building, Fitterman Hall, and caused so much damage that it had to be taken down).

ultra909
ultra909
Sep 20, 2016 5:18 PM

Scientist Rupert Sheldrake has had numerous tangles with self-declared “skeptics” and has a section on his website for those interested: http://www.sheldrake.org/reactions/controversies