April 23, 201313 yr At one point the scientific truth was that the world was flat At one point the scientific truth was that man could not fly At one point the scientific truth was that the universe was static, neither expanding or contracting At one point the scientific truth was that ulcers were caused by stress At one point the scientific truth was that the Earth was the center of a Geocentric Universe At one point the scientific truth was that California was an island apart from the continent At one point the scientific truth was that Fossil Fuels were from decomposed dinosaurs Can't say science is always grounded in "Truth" it is only grounded in the understanding of the time or moment.
April 24, 201313 yr At one point the scientific truth was that the world was flat At one point the scientific truth was that man could not fly At one point the scientific truth was that the universe was static, neither expanding or contracting At one point the scientific truth was that ulcers were caused by stress At one point the scientific truth was that the Earth was the center of a Geocentric Universe At one point the scientific truth was that California was an island apart from the continent At one point the scientific truth was that Fossil Fuels were from decomposed dinosaurs Can't say science is always grounded in "Truth" it is only grounded in the understanding of the time or moment. Just because someone said something doesn't mean that it is scientific. Not all conclusions are scientific.
April 24, 201313 yr Just because someone said something doesn't mean that it is scientific. Not all conclusions are scientific. Your right, but all of the things listed above were all accepted as scientific facts at one time in history only to be proved wrong later. They used all of the scientific tools and resources of the day to support their conclusions. Just as some theories of today that are made with the best of intentions and all of the research possible, some will be proven wrong and some downright silly in the future.
April 24, 201313 yr Your right, but all of the things listed above were all accepted as scientific facts at one time in history only to be proved wrong later. They used all of the scientific tools and resources of the day to support their conclusions. Just as some theories of today that are made with the best of intentions and all of the research possible, some will be proven wrong and some downright silly in the future. No to the bold. Just because they were thought to be fact does not mean that they were "scientifically" thought of as fact. Some were, yes. No one "scientifically" determined that the Earth was flat. Also, your use of the word "theory" in your last sentence is inaccurate. A theory is not just some "guess." I think that you mean hypothesis.
April 24, 201313 yr No to the bold. Just because they were thought to be fact does not mean that they were "scientifically" thought of as fact. Some were, yes. No one "scientifically" determined that the Earth was flat. Also, your use of the word "theory" in your last sentence is inaccurate. A theory is not just some "guess." I think that you mean hypothesis. No the world wasn't proven to be flat as that would have been impossible. With the tools and abilities of the day it was Flat as far as anyone could determine and was accepted as such, until science advanced and it was determined that the earth was indeed round. OK substitute "Fact" for Theory in the last sentence. Nitpicking a line or two of my post does not discount the intent or overall thought that Science is as flawed as anything else and what seems to be fact today may some day be just as silly as some of the examples that I gave.
April 24, 201313 yr No the world wasn't proven to be flat as that would have been impossible. With the tools and abilities of the day it was Flat as far as anyone could determine and was accepted as such, until science advanced and it was determined that the earth was indeed round. OK substitute "Fact" for Theory in the last sentence. Nitpicking a line or two of my post does not discount the intent or overall thought that Science is as flawed as anything else and what seems to be fact today may some day be just as silly as some of the examples that I gave. I'm sorry that you feel that I am nitpicking over a word. I am not. The scientific definition of the word "theory" is very different than the more colloquial use and that makes a big difference in this instance. Some of the examples you give, such as the geocentric universe were more religious determinations and not scientific ones. Remember that Galileo would get in trouble with the Catholic Church for supporting heliocentricism, not because it was thought to be a scientific fact, but because it was determined to go against the scripture.
April 24, 201313 yr I'm sorry that you feel that I am nitpicking over a word. I am not. The scientific definition of the word "theory" is very different than the more colloquial use and that makes a big difference in this instance. Some of the examples you give, such as the geocentric universe were more religious determinations and not scientific ones. Remember that Galileo would get in trouble with the Catholic Church for supporting heliocentricism, not because it was thought to be a scientific fact, but because it was determined to go against the scripture. As you kinda dance around the general premise of my post let me ask you as directly as I can. Do you feel that everything that has been considered scientific fact has always been correct and that with later methods nothing that was deemed to be scientific facts has ever subsequently been deemed to be wrong?
April 24, 201313 yr As you kinda dance around the general premise of my post let me ask you as directly as I can. Do you feel that everything that has been considered scientific fact has always been correct and that with later methods nothing that was deemed to be scientific facts has ever subsequently been deemed to be wrong? Ask me directly? Dance around? I didn't realize that you had asked me anything, so again, I apologize. I think that the ability of science to redefine ideas, based on new evidence, is a strength of science, not a weakness. Very little in science is considered unalterable. At one point, atoms were thought to be the smallest part of matter. Now, we know about quarks that make up atoms. However, that doesn't mean that the idea of an atom has been thrown out. It has been redefined.
April 25, 201313 yr Ask me directly? Dance around? I didn't realize that you had asked me anything, so again, I apologize. I think that the ability of science to redefine ideas, based on new evidence, is a strength of science, not a weakness. Very little in science is considered unalterable. At one point, atoms were thought to be the smallest part of matter. Now, we know about quarks that make up atoms. However, that doesn't mean that the idea of an atom has been thrown out. It has been redefined. Your point on Atoms is what I am talking about, at one point it was a scientific fact that the smallest part of matter was an atom, as there was no way to see anything smaller. You think that 50 or 60 years ago anyone would have argued that Atoms weren't the smallest. I guess we are looking at this from two completely different perspectives...that's cool!
April 25, 201313 yr Your point on Atoms is what I am talking about, at one point it was a scientific fact that the smallest part of matter was an atom, as there was no way to see anything smaller. You think that 50 or 60 years ago anyone would have argued that Atoms weren't the smallest. I guess we are looking at this from two completely different perspectives...that's cool! I certainly don't believe that we know all that there is no know. Not even in the slightest. What I'm glad about is that God has given us the intelligence to answer questions about nature and our universe.
April 28, 201313 yr Whenever there's a picture like this posted I can't see the right half of it. Does anyone know what I need to change to display the entire attachment? Either ye need more faith or more science. :lol2:
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