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
Sorry About The Assumption

Forum List | Follow Ups | Post Message | Back to Thread Topics | In Response To
Posted by Paul R. Martin on June 2, 2003 16:55:30 UTC

Hi Harv,

I don't have a lot of time to respond right now, but I want to apologize for assuming you were not familiar with differential equations. My intent was simply to explain why I went into a rather elementary discussion of the nature of differential equations and their solutions. If I inadvertently cast aspersions on your knowledge I am sorry and I hope this will correct any false impressions I may have caused.

""There is every reason to believe..." is a little strong"

I agree. I should have said, "I suspect that..."

"I can't believe that a young cocky 20-year that Dick was at the time didn't just thirst to embarrass the people he had apparently almost outright contempt for (e.g., his thesis advisor, nobel prize winners, distinguished physicists, etc)."

Taking you literally, I'm glad you can't believe that because it is not even close to a description of the actual events of Dick's life surrounding his discovery or his attitudes at the time.

"I'm sorry that you have joined this kind of company because you really are a bright and intelligent man despite what Dick says. I really think that if you felt true freedom to learn philosophy of science as it is currently being explored, that you would find such amazement in the philosophies that underlie science. As it is with Dick, you can only get caught up in false notions of what science is and therefore you spend your time trying to support that which is unsupportable: the view that science is replicatable beyond scientific means."

Thanks for your concern, but I have not "joined" any kind of company. And, thanks for your kind characterization of me.

Trust me, I do feel an exuberant sense of freedom to learn philosophy, science, and yes, "philosophy of science as it is currently being explored". Nearly all of my spare time that I devote to myself and my interests (except for my piano practice and the time I spend writing off-subject posts to this forum) are spent in the pursuit of those subjects. Once I reached my limit point (the end of Chapter 1)in attempting to understand Dick's work, I have spent very little time, and almost none outside of my forum responses, trying to support Dick's work or understand it further. I continually take college classes on tape and I read books on philosophy and science with no connection to Dick's discovery. Of course, everything I learn goes into the mix of ideas that form my opinions and Dick's result has a strong presence in that mix.

I am as eager as Dick is to hear someone competent come out with a specific review of his results. That would tend to confirm, strengthen, weaken, or deny my view of what he has done. Until then, all the criticisms of the type I read here have no effect at all on what I think about it.

I have an interest in encouraging someone to seriously study his work as you well know. I also have an interest in doing what I can to help others understand his result, as you also well know.

But don't worry about me and my sense of freedom. That was given to me by my pastor when I was 18 years old when he convinced me without a doubt that the precepts promulgated by the church are just so much baloney. I think I have already told you why that was such an enormous burden lifted from my shoulders.

Anyway, Gotta run. Thanks for your comments.

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