tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883551996126668365.post8516953579747380510..comments2024-01-11T21:24:44.379-07:00Comments on A Blog of Tom: Why Creationist Institutes Shouldn't Be Accredited to Grant Degrees in ScienceTom Cantinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06234109728445439457noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883551996126668365.post-13799482166641124282012-04-07T09:46:23.907-06:002012-04-07T09:46:23.907-06:00Well, let me suggest a more concrete example. You ...Well, let me suggest a more concrete example. You come home and find your room in a very different state from when you left. All the cupboards and closets are open, things are scattered all over the floor, and most of your valuables are nowhere to be seen. The door is damaged, and there are muddy stains on the carpet consistent with boot tracks.<br /><br />There is an excellent theory to explain these observations: someone has broken in and robbed you. That someone is a theoretical entity, postulated to make sense of your data. But in all likelihood, someone DID burgle your place, and the actual burglar corresponds to the theoretical entity in all the important ways.<br /><br />Now, you wouldn't say that the burglar is [i]merely[/i] a way of thinking about facts/observations, or that it exists [i]only[/i] in our minds. It MIGHT, actually, if it turns out that your place is a mess for some other unlikely reason. But the thing is, we just don't know, and can't know.<br /><br />I think there very probably IS such a thing as energy out there in the world, and that it's the reason our theories of physics relying on the concept give such excellent results. But it could well turn out otherwise, and energy may exist no more than the ether scientists used to postulate to avoid having to think about vacuum.<br /><br />I don't think we ever CAN know if our theories are "true" in the sense of accurately describing what's really happening out there outside our brains. The best we can hope for is that our theories will make consistently useful predictions. Like I've said in previous posts, understanding is more important than knowing.Tom Cantinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06234109728445439457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883551996126668365.post-36565032306969057122012-04-07T01:00:15.804-06:002012-04-07T01:00:15.804-06:00Question: if energy is a theoretical concept, then...Question: if energy is a theoretical concept, then does everything true of a theory apply to it, ex: it is merely a way of thinking about facts/observations, etc? Does it exist only in our minds? You sort of alluded to it, but I'd like to force the alternative on you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883551996126668365.post-9949443806328343592012-04-06T20:19:31.613-06:002012-04-06T20:19:31.613-06:00A theological explanation is easy, and already exi...A theological explanation is easy, and already exists: "God did it". But it's not a [i]scientific[/i] explanation because it would equally explain the laryngeal nerve existing any other way (say, in apple trees or tungsten deposits or other things without larynxes) or not at all. "God did it", while possibly true (definitionally true if you believe), conveys no actual new information.<br /><br />I'd really like to see an attempt to construct a creationist theory that actually had some kind of predictive power, but the only viable one I can think of is parasitic on natural selection. "God made bees perform the waggle dance to enhance their ability to exploit food resources and thus increase the likelihood of their genes' survival."Tom Cantinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06234109728445439457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1883551996126668365.post-50181897066097537912012-04-06T19:40:32.525-06:002012-04-06T19:40:32.525-06:00Though, if they can come up with a theological exp...Though, if they can come up with a theological explanation behind the laryngeal nerve and it manages to hold up under scientific scrutiny, I'd be willing to vouch them towards an honorary degree from a properly accredited institution.Naedlushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02007553559022415049noreply@blogger.com