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To: Dimensio

Please name a scientific theory being "shut out".




Let me see if I can help. Who said scientific theory? Using the lingo defined by the establishment makes no sense. Shutting out the free exchange of ideas is what I said. Have trouble reading?

Theories are defined and promoted by the scientific establishment. AS such, I prefer to use "free exchange of ideas" a term which is more all encompassing and allows for a vastly more broad scientific playing field and field of inquiry.


233 posted on 11/09/2005 8:57:35 PM PST by eleni121 ('Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!' (Julian the Apostate))
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To: eleni121
Let me see if I can help. Who said scientific theory? Using the lingo defined by the establishment makes no sense. Shutting out the free exchange of ideas is what I said. Have trouble reading?

So we should just let any crackpot notion get a mention in science classes, just to be fair? If someone wants to claim that his pet cat created the universe Last Thursday, that should also be examined?

Theories are defined and promoted by the scientific establishment. AS such, I prefer to use "free exchange of ideas" a term which is more all encompassing and allows for a vastly more broad scientific playing field and field of inquiry.

The "establishment" doesn't define theories. The "establishment" -- in this case, the scientific establishment -- defines a set of criteria that an explanation must meet in order to be given consideration. Other "ideas" aren't shut out because of some elitism, they're shut out because they fail to meet fundamental criteria that would establish them as meaningful explanations in the first place. Intelligent Design, for example, is non-falsifiable. There is absolutely no hypothetical observation that would prove that Intelligent Design did not occur. As such, there's no possible way to define actual evidence for Intelligent Design, because any observations are consistent with it. Because of this, as an explanation, Intelligent Design is worthless.
234 posted on 11/09/2005 9:23:21 PM PST by Dimensio (http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif <-- required reading before you use your next apostrophe!)
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