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Politics : Libertarian Discussion Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (7621)	3/12/2009 5:58:24 PM
From: Doren	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13062

if 99% of CEOs, or 98.5% of research scientists supported it (none of which is true), they would still be obviously wrong on that point. I didn't and never said it WAS true. I don't know if the theory of relativity is true. Actually strike that - I know that it is NOT true, because every theory explaining the nature scientific facts throughout history, has been supplanted by a superior theoretical model. This seems to be what the general public does not understand, that a theory is an educated guess based on observable facts. It is simply the best guess, based on the best evidence by the overwhelming majority of the best minds. These types of theories are almost always disputed in the beginning, like the earth is round, atoms exist, disease is not caused by demons but by germs, and later viruses, evolution, followed by genetics, curvature of space 4D rather than Euclidian 3D space. I tend to go with the majority of the best minds. Not always as I do have an ego... My field is aesthetics, the very existence of which is denied by most people. It just depends on who you think is credible. No it doesn't. Something isn't true, or even overwhelmingly likely to be true, just because some credible source says it is. Again see above. Theory is never believed to be absolutely true by scientists - except poor scientists who have a belief and then try to find evidence to support that belief. Ideologues or religions who believe truth is absolute and only they know the truth. Real scientist try to find facts and explain them with theory. In fact real scientist tries to find facts that obviate their theories. If they fail they do not believe their theories are fact but the inability to disprove a theory, or an agreement with a fact suggested or predicted by a theory strengthens its CREDIBILTY. For example the curvature of space predicted by Einstein was originally not found. In fact it seemed at first that it could not be. However scientists eventually spotted stars, known to be behind the sun, that should not have been visible behind the sun. The explanation for that discovery was that the gravity of the sun curved light around it so the stars appeared before it. This did not prove Einstein's theory but was strong evidence it was a very good mental construct of the truth. Not THE truth.