In a previous article "Bob White" <threeball@hotmail.com> writes:
You mis-understood what they meant. They do not claim there are no
ETs, or else there will be no point going to look for them. This is a
case where scientists presume the opposite in order to prove the
opposite false. They do it with all scientific theories, even
evolution. It is only assumed so becasue they believe it is false.
;The scientific method is to start with the only reasonable presumption, the
:null hypothesis, zero of whatever is theorized to exist, then look at the
;evidence to see if there is any reason to reject the null hypothesis. I hope
:this helps clear up for you how the scientific method works.
;
:Here is how it works in general, as illustrated by one of the SETI
;scientists:
:
;Null : of, being, or relating to zero
:www.m-w.com
;(as in, "There are no ETs.")
:
;
:---
;Testing the Null Hypothesis
:by John Marcus, MD
;email
:
;http://www.setileague.org/editor/null.htm
:
;SETI is perhaps the most highly interdisciplinary of sciences,
:encompassing not only astronomy, biology, engineering and physics, but
;also psychology, metaphysics, probability, and belief. But it is, first
:and foremost, a science, one to which we hope to apply the scientific
;method.
:
;[...]
:
;The Scientific Method for the Argus search is this:
:
;There are no ET's. (null hypothesis).
:
;... [W]e now design an experiment (Project Argus, for example) to try to
:prove that statement wrong, recognizing that it takes only one clear,
;unambiguous counter-example to reject the null hypothesis. ...
:
;---
:
;
:
.
|
