Re: "No Bolides!"

[Neil Whiteley-Bolton <sauropod@xs4all.nl>]

Rob Meyerson wrote:

> McReese writes;
> 
> >If science is not the persuit of truth then why is
> >everyone one in an uproar about psuedo-science?  How can there be psuedo
> >science if science has nothhing to do with truth?
> 
> Good question, however there is a difference.
> 
> The problem here deals with the tactics/steps that one takes to
>  "prove" a point.  In the realm of pseudo-science (in quotes since we
>  never really prove anything for all time), the steps taken are far
>  from rigorous, and tend to be based more on the researchers opinions,
>  or financial goals, rather than what the facts/experiments may
>  suggest.  For example: a chemical company making an
>  untested/poorly-tested claim on a new product (all to common).  Also,
>  pseudo-scientists tend use the mass media to spread their ideas
>  (trying to sway public opinion), rather than submitting them to a
>  scientific journal for peer review.  The main concern here is a
>  question of rigorous testing over ideas that are slopped together and
>  shipped to market.
> --  8< SNIP SNIP

Try reading Popper's book "The Logic of Scientific Discovery"

;-)

Neil