>> As if there was a giant conspiracy by Big Cosmology. What makes you think asking questions isn't welcome?
Because they're not? Proposing a specific distribution of fairy dust immediately begs two questions. "What is it?" - ok I'll let that slide, but "why that distribution?" is critical. It is claimed to influence regular mater via gravity, so why should it take on a different distribution? It "solves" one problem but creates many more. Hey if there's a math model to explain one phenomenon, why does it differ from the existing stuff under the same influence? If peer review doesn't force them to address such questions, there is no hope for me to do so.
The inevitable process of science involves raising questions that, at first, do not have answers. Publications are not exam papers where peer reviewers have the answer key. The process of science is also a communal activity, where one scientist raises a question in one forum, and the answer comes from a different scientist years later. Peer review should not and does not (per your own admission) suppress the raising of unanswered questions. And this contradicts your earlier claim that asking questions isn't welcome.
There is no shortage of explantions aimed at a smart highschool or undergraduate student which will answer most of those questions. Obviously not "what is it?", that is one of the biggest open questions in cosmology.
The answer is you have to understand the math to understand the theory. Popular accounts are always an approximation, but if the theory were easily refuted by lay people, scientists would not be basing entire research programs on it.
Because they're not? Proposing a specific distribution of fairy dust immediately begs two questions. "What is it?" - ok I'll let that slide, but "why that distribution?" is critical. It is claimed to influence regular mater via gravity, so why should it take on a different distribution? It "solves" one problem but creates many more. Hey if there's a math model to explain one phenomenon, why does it differ from the existing stuff under the same influence? If peer review doesn't force them to address such questions, there is no hope for me to do so.