Astronauts then and now, Scientists then and now 

Astronauts used to be the elites among the elites. Every astronaut was a national hero. Each astronaut was supposed to be selected from the millions and go through gruesome training to be qualified.

But in this age of commercial space travel, anyone with enough cash or befriending the owner of a spaceship can be an astronaut. Any old lady in their eighties or nineties will do. However, not a single expert told the public that space travel was leisure. Instead, experts told us that astronauts would experience extreme pressure during takeoff. Only the chosen few can withstand such a stress. I was a little boy then. The speed of acceleration didn’t seem high to me. But like most questions I have, I kept it to myself.

Now we know that every expert in the space industry lies. There’s not a single exception. 

Scientists, especially physicists, used to be the elites among the elites. Prominent physicists, such as those involved in atomic bombs, were national heroes.  Einstein was supposed to be the greatest genius of all time.

Science was once the domain of the exclusive few. It was said that only three persons understood relativity. But in this age of affluence, science has become the pastime of many. In particular, relativity is relatively easy to understand. Soon quite a few realize that Lorentz transformation and relativity are logically inconsistent. 

However, not a single authority is willing to acknowledge the fundamental flaws of modern physics in general and relativity in particular. Instead, authorities relentlessly denigrate the dissidents, calling them amateurs, as if only salaried employees are qualified to make sound judgments.

Every authority in the physics profession lies. Is there a single exception?