On Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 5:33:13 PM UTC-6, Quadibloc wrote:

On Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 4:43:36 PM UTC-6, Chris L Peterson wrote:

Certainly. But I'd say the evidence is that our knowledge is
approaching complete. That we have a finished jigsaw puzzle that's
just missing a few pieces. They're some very important pieces, of
course, but not ones that are going to make the whole picture look
different.

I note that our core theories have been stable for a very long time
now. New discoveries (e.g. dark energy) result in tweaks to existing
theory, not throwing out major areas of physics and replacing them
with something completely different (the sort of thing that did happen
150 years ago). I take that as in indicator that our theories are
converging on ground truth.

Yes, but that much has been true since Newton. Relativity and quantum
mechanics are also "tweaks" that didn't overturn the basic physics on
which most of our technology is based.

I think QM did. Semiconductor technology depends on it.

To say that they overturned everything, while dark matter is a "tweak"
is debatable.

Since we don't know what dark matter and energy are, we have no certainty
about what understanding them is going to do. If they're anything like
what I think they are, they will be much more than a tweak. I don't think
their de-masking will change technology, but they will change our philosophy
and understanding of the cosmos

Although it is true that relativity and quantum mechanics did revise the
very roots of physics, even if the outcome in everyday life didn't change
much.

Umm, looked at your I-phone lately?

But then, what about the much later discovery of quarks?

John Savard

We really haven't done much with quark technology (technology is where physics
impinges on our everyday life).