Saturday, September 24, 2011
Theory is not fact, part 58578437584375843989
A couple fresh examples of the standard confusion between fact and currently fashionable theory.
(1) The frothing about some neutrinos that appear to go very slightly faster than light. This supposedly changes reality. Nope. If this turns out to be a valid result, it only changes some of the numbers in a theory which has no practical application anyway.
(2) Discussing the Italian trial of "scientific" experts for mispredicting a deadly earthquake, seismologist Rick Aster says: "Because an earthquake is an INHERENTLY unpredictable phenomenon..."
Nope, it's not INHERENTLY unpredictable. Many animals and humans are unquestionably able to predict a quake at least 18 hours in advance, which means a physical phenomenon is present, available and measurable by our senses. It's unbelievably arrogant to claim that this phenomenon doesn't exist because your theory won't let you notice it, or because your technical methods haven't yet been able to measure it. Sort of like a scientist in 1850 claiming that there's no way to understand or remember human speech because there's no mechanical device available to record the sound. Except that the scientists of 1850 were sane, so they wouldn't have made such a bizarre statement.
Classic case of theorigenic blindness. Theory prevents you from looking in the right places to find facts, thus killing science.
= = = = =
Every theory, from evolution to relativity to economics, is just an attempted explanation. When the known facts change, you have to adjust or discard your explanation. (Note: I did not include "global warming" in this list, because "global warming" was never meant to be an explanation at all. It was a pure and intentional fraud from the start.) ¶ 8:23 AM
(1) The frothing about some neutrinos that appear to go very slightly faster than light. This supposedly changes reality. Nope. If this turns out to be a valid result, it only changes some of the numbers in a theory which has no practical application anyway.
(2) Discussing the Italian trial of "scientific" experts for mispredicting a deadly earthquake, seismologist Rick Aster says: "Because an earthquake is an INHERENTLY unpredictable phenomenon..."
Nope, it's not INHERENTLY unpredictable. Many animals and humans are unquestionably able to predict a quake at least 18 hours in advance, which means a physical phenomenon is present, available and measurable by our senses. It's unbelievably arrogant to claim that this phenomenon doesn't exist because your theory won't let you notice it, or because your technical methods haven't yet been able to measure it. Sort of like a scientist in 1850 claiming that there's no way to understand or remember human speech because there's no mechanical device available to record the sound. Except that the scientists of 1850 were sane, so they wouldn't have made such a bizarre statement.
Classic case of theorigenic blindness. Theory prevents you from looking in the right places to find facts, thus killing science.
= = = = =
Every theory, from evolution to relativity to economics, is just an attempted explanation. When the known facts change, you have to adjust or discard your explanation. (Note: I did not include "global warming" in this list, because "global warming" was never meant to be an explanation at all. It was a pure and intentional fraud from the start.) ¶ 8:23 AM
