re: #22 ludwigvanquixote

Next up, The cosmology video.

It was in general excellent except for a minor point and a major point.

The minor point is that helium did not rise out of the cooling universe. It is the first product of fusing hydrogen and the result of stellar fusion.

The major point: Einstein did not fudge or fake his math when he added the Cosmological Constant.

The CC is real and actually exists and it is the cause of the acceleration of the universe’s expansion.

When Einstein added the CC to his field equations, he did something that was completely mathematically kosher. While it is indeed true that for a long time people thought it was zero, there was no theoretical reason to not include it.

An analogous example might be what happens when you evaluate an indefinite integral. You get the function + a constant. That constant might be anything because it dies upon differentiation. Thus, when you do the evaluation you have to say + C.

So it s true that Einstein put the CC in for philosophical reasons that were incorrect, however, he was mathematically permitted to do so, and ironically ultimately proven right to have done so. It is just that the value that the CC takes is even worse for his original philosophical reason to include it - i.e. a static universe.

So, he was right for the wrong reasons? Like Wegener was right about continental drift, but wrong about the cause?