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To: Nicholas Conradin

Have you read Popper? Have you read on his 'falsifiability'? How would you falsify creation theory, ID theory or evolution? This is just what the age-old argument is on; those that understand enough philosophy of science to make the decision aren't closely involved, those that are closely involved are not familiar with falsifiability, e. g.


2 posted on 11/10/2005 4:51:42 AM PST by dhuffman@awod.com (The conspiracy of ignorance masquerades as common sense.)
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To: dhuffman@awod.com
Have you read Popper?

Who died and made Popper the god of science? He is just one among many who wrestled with what constitutes the same. "Intelligent design is not science" is a mantra for those who would stifle free inquiry. Neither science nor education nor mankind in general are bound to burden themselves with this constraint.

13 posted on 11/10/2005 5:14:22 AM PST by Fester Chugabrew
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To: dhuffman@awod.com

Evolution isn't a theory, it's a fact based on the observed reality of the fossil record. There are theories about how it occurs. Natural selection is the most widely accepted theory of how evolution occurs (an early 20th c competitor was Lamarckism). Natural selection is falsifiable- one would merely need to show that genetic mutations are never beneficial to an organism, or that these mutations are acquired (Lamarckism) in the lifespan of an organism. Clearly the evidence is in favor of natural selection, but the theory of natural selection itself has undergone several major revisions over the past 100 years as a result of new evidence and a closer examination of existing evidence.

To the contrary of your assertion, I know several evolutionary biologists, and they are all thoroughgoing Popperians.


26 posted on 11/10/2005 5:29:48 AM PST by oblomov
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To: dhuffman@awod.com
Have you read on his 'falsifiability'? How would you falsify creation theory, ID theory or evolution?

Evolution would be proven false if someone could identify a billion year old human fossil. I'm not aware that has been done.

87 posted on 11/10/2005 8:38:26 AM PST by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: dhuffman@awod.com
How would you falsify creation theory, ID theory or evolution?

I am not aware of any falsification test for ID.

A DNA retrovirus shared by humans and gorillas but not chimps would neatly falsify the theory of evolution. (one of many, many, many possible falsifications that ToE has survived over the last 150 years, it wasn't so long ago that the creationists were predicting that the molecular evidence from genomes *would* falsify ToE when it came in. How wrong they were; it has vindicated ToE in spades.)

92 posted on 11/10/2005 8:47:56 AM PST by Thatcherite (Feminized androgenous automaton euro-weenie blackguard)
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To: dhuffman@awod.com

How would you falsify creation theory, ID theory or evolution?

Evolution is falsifiable. Any fossil found that didn't fit the predicted evolutionary progression would falsify it. For example, a 2 billion year old rabbit fossil or a T. Rex fossil only 6000 years old would do it. Every time a fossil is found evolution is tested.

245 posted on 11/10/2005 2:29:32 PM PST by ml1954 (NOT the disruptive troll seen frequently on CREVO threads)
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