SCIENCE!

[elanid]

I'm supposed to be doing my homework, but I'd rather not (c'mon, you guys, I have a Chinese midterm, give me a break :P), so instead, I'm going to write about evolution.  One of my classes this year is an upper-division biology class, Experimental Ecology & Evolution (E3, for short, and I love it more than any class ever), which is giving me uppity

Comments

[sarahbrand]

(continuing from above)

About gravity: it's basically geometry. Incredibly complex four-dimensional geometry, but all the same. As far as I can tell, you're not even trying to understand it, and your seeming unwillingness to do so, even as you continue to claim that its nature supports your argument, is not helping your case.

Thus the scientist presumes they can explain the way things really are to someone who is ignorant of the way things really are in order to enlighten that individual.

Yes, and? There's nothing stopping the latter individual from checking the scientist's work and determining whether the scientist's conclusions are in accord with his/her own observations. (For this reason, I would also dispute your earlier characterization of scientists as priests.) Furthermore, I'm not sure what's wrong with observing things and then communicating those observations to other people. Isn't that what writing (for instance) is all about?

I apologize for the mix-up between Heisenberg and the observer effect, but the one is really

[elanid]

And frankly, I don't want to get into that argument with Rachel. We'll just both end up calling each other lunatics and yelling a lot, as we seem to have done already. It's not constructive.

Devon, I understand that you are feeling a little bit frustrated, but - in service to an argument utterly unrelated to science or existentialism - I would submit that the only reason your discussion with Sarah hasn't descended to this point is that she is being exceedingly polite and careful in her points, while I am replying in the same tone that you are using with both of us. Do consider what this says about your own manner of argument.

I'd finally like to say that I'm tired of arguing, so I'll respond to questions if either of you need something clarified about my ontology, but I won't quibble over which ontology is more valid.Fine. Pray return, then, if you don't mind, to your points about science in society, which I personally found a far more interesting and useful discussion than whether or not causality exists. (You may have picked up

[sarahbrand]

I am certainly willing to wrap up my part of the discussion here, and I'm very glad that you and I managed to conclude on an amicable note.