| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Gregory L. Hansen" |
| Date: |
29 Jul 2003 09:23:44 AM |
| Object: |
Re: Do Theories Have to be Testable to be Scientific? |
In article <bfq7ma$a4e$1@panix3.panix.com>,
Keith F. Lynch <kfl@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
"Keith F. Lynch" <kfl@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
I'm not so sure about time machines. There are several ways they
could exist without creating a paradox.
Steve Harris <sbharris@ix.RETICULATEDOBJECTcom.com> wrote:
Name one. Of course we are talking about reverse time travel (RTT),
since forward time travel creates no paradoxes and indeed is
accepted at variable rates without problem.
I'll name four:
* The universe will "find" a self-consistent history. If you try to
* Branching histories. If you kill your grandfather, you'll cause a
* "Stack" or "tape" history. History starts over from the point of
* Meta-time, in which time has a second dimension. Changed histories
There may be others, but those are the obvious ones.
A thought going back at least to Hume is that cause-effect relations
aren't proven. All we can say is that certain events seem to be followed
by other events.
* The time traveller can do anything he wants, but it won't affect
anything else because all of history is just a sequence of events, not
cause-effect relationships.
--
"A good plan executed right now is far better than a perfect plan
executed next week."
-Gen. George S. Patton
.
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| User: "Keith F. Lynch" |
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| Title: Re: Do Theories Have to be Testable to be Scientific? |
29 Jul 2003 09:26:24 PM |
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Gregory L. Hansen <glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote:
A thought going back at least to Hume is that cause-effect relations
aren't proven. All we can say is that certain events seem to be
followed by other events.
* The time traveller can do anything he wants, but it won't affect
anything else because all of history is just a sequence of events,
not cause-effect relationships.
That, too, has been depicted in science fiction. Alfred Bester's "The
Men Who Murdered Mohammed". Killing Mohammed, Columbus, Washington,
etc., proves to have no effect whatsoever. Except that the time
traveler is less and less able to interact with the world.
--
Keith F. Lynch - - http://keithlynch.net/
I always welcome replies to my e-mail, postings, and web pages, but
unsolicited bulk e-mail (spam) is not acceptable. Please do not send me
HTML, "rich text," or attachments, as all such email is discarded unread.
.
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| User: "Jeff Relf" |
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| Title: - Useful and Probable - |
03 Aug 2003 08:01:20 AM |
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Hi Gregory L. Hansen , you mention :
" A thought going back at least to Hume is that :
Cause-effect relations aren't proven . "
Not proven ? Nothing is perfectly proven .
Scientists simply Trust certain axioms .
To gain this trust the axioms must be both :
Useful and Probable .
For example ... Drum roll ...
Many renowned scientists have found that :
Fatalism is both useful and probable . Clash !
.
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