October 4, 2004

Volker Hetzer wrote:

"Thomas Lee Elifritz" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:dDe8d.2043 but you are making predictions based


on faith as you admit below.


Yes, I have faith that if I repeat observations previously performed, I
will get something in the way of evidence from them, and if I make
predictions based upon theory based upon evidence, observational and
otherwise, I will produce further evidence. Science and faith are not
incompatible,


So, in what way does your "faith" change the outcome of your observations?

It allows me to design better experiments.

just as creation and evolution are not incompatible,


For a sufficiently relaxed definition of creation.


No, Thomas. The purpose of the scientific method is to
eliminate the errors caused by introducing faith and
ensure that everything can be shown to have been derived,
either directly or indirectly, from observation.



That is one of them, but you seem to think that there is only one single
, that scientific methods are absolute, and that scientific methods do
not evolve, as if it was created by some kind of legislation.


Ok, the scientific method evolves. Yes. Now, can you show that
introducing faith improves the method?

I allows me to greatly speed up the process, because I don't have to
verify every observation ever made, and I don't have to necessarily make
observations where I have faith in the outcome, and I can focus on
producing useful results. On the other hand, I have great confidence,
faith, really, that if I construct the devices to enable me to observe
things or perform things that I can't yet observe, but know must exist
or be possible based upon the totality of evidence in all it's myriad of
forms, then I won't be wasting my time. In this regard, the skeptics are
almost always demonstrated to be wrong in the end.

Like, by demonstrating
that with your addition one can derive better theories (less complex,
more explanatory and/or predictive power)?

I just did that. In addition to the principle of unification,
complementary principles like duality, which work very well all across
physics, there are also multiplicities to consider. Get with the
program, you are falling behind. These are exciting times, you can
either choose to participate, or choose not to participate.

You won't get anywhere by sitting on your ass in front of a computer
screen and posting idiotic comments on the usenet like : "There is *NO*
evidence". Evidence is everywhere, you need to convert that evidence
into useful results. If your result is not useful to me, that is my
problem, not yours. Skepticism does not sort out the crackpot theories
and incorrect theories from the useful ones, evidence does. When a
theory is no longer useful, you modify it, you don't necessarily throw
it out completely.

Thomas Lee Elifritz
http://elifritz.members.atlantic.net