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Politics : View from the Center and Left
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To: Katelew who wrote (101747)1/25/2009 8:36:39 AM
From: Lane3  Read Replies (4) of 543283
 
But that is the scientific method. A hypothesis followed by accumulation of evidence, i.e. the looking for evidence to support the hypothesis.

No, that is bass ackwards. It is not scientific to look for evidence to support anything. If you go looking for it, you will find it but miss or discount all the evidence that contradicts it. Science studies the evidence first, then follow wherever it leads.

The best advocate for the spirit of science in pop culture is the character Gil Grissom on CSI. He preaches that crime scene investigators refrain from trying to prove someone guilty or not guilty and just see where the evidence leads.

What people call "theories" nowadays are often suppositions or wishful thinking. Then they go off searching for and finding just the evidence that they can interpret as supporting and often just enough of it to snow others who are predisposed to believe it into thinking it has been demonstrated/proven.

Sure, you can identify things that seem to support intelligent design. You can also identify things that seem to lead in the opposite direction. There is plenty there to tickle the philosopher or cleric, but you can't call it science. There there is absolutely no way to gather the evidence needed to prove it either way, which any reputable scientist knows, and which makes any alleged scientist who makes a claim on that basis a quack. He is either unethical or incompetent or both. And partially responsible for the continued dumbing down of our society.
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