[flopflip]

I have been trying to figure this out since the slashdot story (on the 4th?). (In fact, my search for more info is what led me to TOEQuest). Like others, my impression of the lecture is very positive. But upon looking for more information about the author, I began to sense some unease. There are zero citations in peer-reviewed journals by him, at least that I could find. The two citations that I have seen were for a poster he presented as an undergrad in 2000, and a presentation at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in December of 2005. I will be the first to admit that this says nothing, really, about the merit of his theory. But I am definitely curious to know why he has not published, and why he has chosen to make a public presentation of the work before publishing.

At least as troubling is this sudden disappearance. I was able to go to his site on Feb. 7th, but the next day when I went to grab the link again, to send to a friend, the site was down. Also, he was listed on the Stanford Physics Dep't. website as a Visiting Professor as late as the 7th, but is no longer there ("Updated: February 8, 2006"). Notably, it appears his association with Stanford had just begun, as he is also not listed in the most recent Wayback Machine archive of that same page, from last semester. This is quite a bit more intriguing than just his site getting slashdotted!

I am looking forward to finding out just exactly is happening, because on the surface, this seems like genuinely interesting, possibly very important work. But the circumstances surrounding the appearance and sudden disappearance of AF Mayer and his material is not especially encouraging.