[Olog-hai]

False dilemma now, and repeat of ad verecundiam. College credentials do not raise credibility any more than being part of NASA does.

The Wright Brothers had a working model that actually flew, versus Buhler’s claim (unverified independently) of a mere 0.0022 pounds force that can bespeak interference from external forces and absolutely does not match what the article headline claims.

[marktwain]

.0022 lbs of force is fairly easily measured.

It is not a 1/100,000 of G. It is gravity exerted on one gram of matter. Easy to measure.

Making absolutely sure there is no electrostatic or magnetic or atmospheric or ionic force should not be too difficult with this level of force.

[Rockingham]

The reports of the Wright brothers' initial flight were unimpressive and little better than what Buhler has claimed. As for the logical fallacy known as argument ad verecundiam, it refers to argument based on inappropriate authority, not argument that refers to appropriate authority. In other words, call a plumber to fix your pipes, not an electrician.

Moreover, there are times when nay-saying experts are wrong about new things. When the New York Times famously (and wrongly) debunked Robert Goddard's work and asserted that space flight using rockets was impossible, they did so in reliance on the views of scientific authorities in that era. As it was, Goddard had the better understanding of physics -- as did the German scientists and technicians who developed and extended his work.

With degrees in physics, work records in the nation's aeronautics agency, and a claim of a device that apparently works on a test rig, Buhler and his colleagues merit a hearing. In practical terms, that requires not a trip from Dayton to the dunes in North Carolina, but millions of dollars in outside funding to build a device and put it into orbit. Otherwise, as happened with Goddard and his rockets, a hostile nation may first reap the benefit of pioneering work by Americans.