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To: K4Harty

3 posted on 06/15/2007 8:08:13 PM PDT by BipolarBob (Yes I backed over the vampire, but I swear I didn't see it in my rear view mirror.)
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To: BipolarBob
One of the interesting points of Scientific Worldview is the ability to discard viewpoints that were previously thought of as The Truth(tm).

There is no absolute Truth. There is only evidence, hypotheses drawn from them and Theories refined from hypotheses.

But even most longstanding theories are vulnerable to criticism, especially when confronted with new evidence.

This is not an admission of knowing nothing. This is an admission of fallibility. Scientist knows that his/her views may be incomplete. He/She knows that there is a possibility that he/she may be mistaken. He/she knows only that this particular theory is one that accounts for the facts and data available.

Infallibility is a tricky proposition. It takes only one counterexample to be proven wrong. In this case a true scientist admits that he/she was mistaken and starts rebuilding his hypotheses, not from the ground up but from the evidence available.

It is not shameful to be mistaken. It is shameful to discard evidence, refuse to face the facts and to draw proper conclusions from available facts.

Pluto was categorized as planet by coincidence, as someone gathering facts "lucked out" and discovered it. It got classified as "planet" before larger celestial bodies orbiting on similar orbits were found? These things happen.

We got new data? Then, let's evaluate anew what we think we know about solar system...

"Face the Facts. Face the facts. Then act on them. It's the only mantra I know, the only doctrine I have to offer you, and it's harder than you'd think, because I swear humans seem hardwired to do anything but. Face the facts. Don't pray, don't wish, don't buy into centuries-old dogma and dead rethoric. Don't give in to your conditioning or your visions ou your fucked-up sense of...whathever. Face the facts. Then act." --Quellcrist Falconer
28 posted on 06/16/2007 10:20:02 AM PDT by MirrorField (Just an opinion from atheist, minarchist and small-l libertarian.)
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