That's pure Popperian falsification but does not entirely describe
what is really going on. Kuhn had the better of it with a view of
science as a defensive cultural activity and what we have seen
recently is a paradigm shift in which most scientists have converted
to acceptance in the face of overwhelming evidence. A few cling to
the previous paradigm and a few choose to be contrary, often as
gamble that they can get a high profile , or more conspiratorially,
suspect funding.
This is not a sudden thing. I've been teaching global warming theory
in senior high school since 1990 - and no, I did not write the
curriculum. How come everyone has suddenly noticed? Tipping point?
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 27/02/2007, at 8:17 AM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> I'm afraid that the history of science is replete with many
> instances of
> scientists watching out for their own best interests and egos before
> attempting to disprove their own previously published hypotheses.
> They
> are human and for many there is much money and prestige at stake.
>
> I take it all with a very large grain of salt.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
> Johann Thorsson wrote:
>> This is true. Part of the problem is that scientists speculate,
>> that is
>> what they are trained to do. They hypothesize based on all kinds
>> of data
>> and scenarios, but they don't (or should not) claim to know the
>> truth.
>> There is a reason why nothing can be more than 99.9% certain, and
>> why things
>> are supposed to be "true" when the probability is 95%. So "truth" in
>> science is not the same as other people understand it to be. And
>> all
>> scientific debates must be viewed with the fact in mind that the
>> whole
>> purpose of all scientific work is to disprove something, you try
>> to disprove
>> your own work or someone's else's work, but if you fail you claim
>> that you
>> can't disprove it, but not that something is true. I don't think
>> people
>> generally understand this.
>
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