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To: donh
Look in the astrology column of your newspaper--people are constantly writing in to report the success of their astrological predictions, and in far vaster numbers than astronomers are reporting successes in predicting large-scale orbits using einsteinian mechanics.

Now compare that to the success you'd get from haphazard guessing. You'll find them well within statistical parameters.

Just like new data will no doubt come along and prove the ID theory accurate, and the macro-evolutionary theory innacurate, eh?

You're asking me if that's what I'm saying? It's not.

I was arguing about your claim that Einsteinian mechanics was "infinitely superior" to Newtonian mechanics.

Which it is, from a purely scientific perspective. Einsteinian theory can predict everything Newtonian theory can, plus a whole lot more. The fact that there are situations where the extra work involved in applying Einstein's theory doesn't justify the small increase in accuracy that you'd get, has nothing to do with what I'm saying.

[Unlike ID, SETI isn't a theory; it's a means of testing a theory.]

Well, of course it's a theory, and I can state it: "There exist living entities on other planets".

And then there's the counter-theory, which is that we're alone. SETI is just a tool for helping to decide between the two.

ID is quite carefully (craftily, I would have said) not claiming to know what might have caused macro-evolution: just that it would like to consider it legitimate to look for signs--just like SETI wants to look for signs, without claiming to have pre-conceived notions as to what those signs might look like, or portend.

The "signs" that ID points to are the features of living organisms that, at present, have been unexplained by evolutionary theory.

1,114 posted on 09/24/2005 12:22:40 PM PDT by inquest (FTAA delenda est)
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To: inquest
"doesn't justify" should be "isn't justified by"
1,115 posted on 09/24/2005 12:25:46 PM PDT by inquest (FTAA delenda est)
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To: inquest
Look in the astrology column of your newspaper--people are constantly writing in to report the success of their astrological predictions, and in far vaster numbers than astronomers are reporting successes in predicting large-scale orbits using einsteinian mechanics.

Now compare that to the success you'd get from haphazard guessing. You'll find them well within statistical parameters.

So you say. And so you might be able to show--in a sterile laboratory, observed by cynical scientists with no personal interest in the outcome of tests. What has this to do with the real world?, where the observer and the test are interacting, and nearly every afficionado of astrology reports substantial success?

Just like new data will no doubt come along and prove the ID theory accurate, and the macro-evolutionary theory innacurate, eh?

You're asking me if that's what I'm saying? It's not.

Really, but it's ok for science to investigate SETI sans any trace of encouraging positive forensic evidence?

...

I was arguing about your claim that Einsteinian mechanics was "infinitely superior" to Newtonian mechanics.

Which it is, from a purely scientific perspective. Einsteinian theory can predict everything Newtonian theory can, plus a whole lot more. The fact that there are situations where the extra work involved in applying Einstein's theory doesn't justify the small increase in accuracy that you'd get, has nothing to do with what I'm saying.

If there are situations where Newtonian mechanics is the better tool, than Einsteinian mechanics are plainly not "infinitely superior". If it was "infinitely superior, we'd never employ Newtonian mechanics.

[Unlike ID, SETI isn't a theory; it's a means of testing a theory.]

Well, of course it's a theory, and I can state it: "There exist living entities on other planets".

And then there's the counter-theory, which is that we're alone. SETI is just a tool for helping to decide between the two.

And ID has a countertheory--naturalistic macro-evolution, and ID research would have much the same attributes as SETI research.

ID is quite carefully (craftily, I would have said) not claiming to know what might have caused macro-evolution: just that it would like to consider it legitimate to look for signs--just like SETI wants to look for signs, without claiming to have pre-conceived notions as to what those signs might look like, or portend.

The "signs" that ID points to are the features of living organisms that, at present, have been unexplained by evolutionary theory.

So let me see if I have this straight--SETI gets a place at the scientific table because there's absolutely no encouraging positive forensic evidence it can point to, but ID loses it's place at the scientific table because it can point to vacancies in the forensic evidence for evolutionary theory.

Remind me not to vote you into a schoolboard position in my district. Your approach will not fend off ID for a microsecond.

1,116 posted on 09/24/2005 3:17:07 PM PDT by donh (A is </a>)
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