As predicted, Canada Theory 18 did not smash any idols. Apart from students dutifully plying an orthodox course laid out for them by supervisors at a loss for original ideas, only a few individuals dared venture an original viewpoint, but I wasn’t really able to follow their arguments. One of these is a Polytechnique faculty member and former student of Louis’s father. Outside the sessions, I did have some edifying discussions with a student at Perimeter, who assures me that among the student body there are a few individuals with an appetite for exploring new paths. Perimeter–as a sponsor–was heavily represented. I did some promotion for ACG, so don’t be surprised if a new face or two appears, though the students are mainly concerned with keeping their noses clean until thesis defense is behind them. A few of the participants may have taken the free bus to Ottawa for the conference there. Unfortunately I have a medical appointment this week, so will not be making the trip.
I attended a few talks on cosmology yesterday at the 2026 CAP Congress. All that is presented are studies of some solutions of relativistic equations to see if their properties lead to a ‘universe’ that looks like the universe we see. The poor theorists (many are grad. students) work through equations for months to find answers which are useless most of the time. Without guidance, trying a randomly selected solution out of an infinity of choices gives them zero chance of finding anything reasonable.
One speaker, Patrick Kelly, was different though. He makes some assumption of a vacuum (Riemann-flat) universe and finds a solution that is independent of a(t). There’s no dark energy. In other words, his theory is compatible with any scale factor, including the static case a(t) = 1. But then that theory is non predictive and not falsifiable; he must have a “division by zero” hidden somewhere in the derivation. One person I talked to had not been to Canada 18, but his version of a ‘new path’ still involved GR.
I’m giving my talk late Thursday, I don’t expect and astrophysicist there but you never know. I hope I get some feedback from atomic physicists.