Back to Home

God & Science Forum Message

Forums: Atm · Astrophotography · Blackholes · Blackholes2 · CCD · Celestron · Domes · Education
Eyepieces · Meade · Misc. · God and Science · SETI · Software · UFO · XEphem
RSS Button

Home | Discussion Forums | God and Science | Post
Login

Be the first pioneers to continue the Astronomy Discussions at our new Astronomy meeting place...
The Space and Astronomy Agora
...Which Is Much More Precise Than Analogies.

Forum List | Follow Ups | Post Message | Back to Thread Topics | In Response To
Posted by Paul R. Martin on May 31, 2003 03:13:20 UTC

Hi Mark,

You do use a lot of analogies. So many that I think they get in the way of understanding rather than help.

I see Dick's discovery as consisting of two parts. First is a theorem of mathematics which has nothing to do with reality. Second is the discovery that solutions to his theorem, which is stated as a differential equation, produce familiar laws of physics. Since there are undoubtedly many more solutions to his equation yet to be discovered, it seems to me that it is likely that new solutions, when found, will suggest new, as yet undiscovered, laws of physics. This would seem to me to provide an enormous incentive for young scientists to begin searching for those solutions and laws.

Now, as for trusting either mathematics or scientific observations, I guess you could take a skeptical stance and say that nothing is trustworthy. But so far, I don't think anything is more trustworthy than mathematics if the measure is the number of people who deny its truth. And I don't think you can find anything more trustworthy than science if the measure is the power it provides to humans in the control of nature. I think Dick's work contributes both as an extension to mathematics and as a a new avenue of approach for science.

Warm regards,

Paul

Follow Ups:

Login to Post
Additional Information
Google
 
Web www.astronomy.net
DayNightLine
About Astronomy Net | Advertise on Astronomy Net | Contact & Comments | Privacy Policy
Unless otherwise specified, web site content Copyright 1994-2024 John Huggins All Rights Reserved
Forum posts are Copyright their authors as specified in the heading above the post.
"dbHTML," "AstroGuide," "ASTRONOMY.NET" & "VA.NET"
are trademarks of John Huggins