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To: allmendream
It is not enough that evolution through natural selection of genetic variation explain observations, to be truly useful it also needs to be able to predict results.

Of course, but we are talking about two different definitions of predictions. The hallmark of science is that observations are replicable. That is if it is observed that the earth is spinning, then sunrise times are predictable. F=MA means that the trajectory of a bullet is predictable. These are all predictions based on observations of what is.

Religion on the other hand uses the term prediction and prophecy synonymously. These 'predictions' are not replicable and may not even be observable.

We are using terms that don't mean the same thing between the scientific and religious uses of the words.

884 posted on 06/23/2009 9:12:58 AM PDT by LeGrande (I once heard a smart man say that you canÂ’t reason someone out of something that they didnÂ’t reaso)
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To: LeGrande
A prediction in science is more along the lines of “If I do A and B then C and D will result”, with A, B, C and D all being well defined and often quantitative.

Prophecy is MUCH more vague, something along the lines of “Sometime in the future, after event A, event B will happen” with both A and B being rather vague.

Science is predictive not just on things that have already been observed, but also allows one to hypothesize the existence of factors that have NOT been observed.

Observation tells me that the Sun will come up where I am sometime around 6 am local time. That observation is not dependent upon me having any understanding of gravity.

An understanding of gravity however will allow me to predict the orbital velocity of a hypothetical object placed in a known orbital distance from a known mass.

885 posted on 06/23/2009 9:22:36 AM PDT by allmendream ("Wealth is EARNED not distributed, so how could it be redistributed?")
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