Re: [asa] YEC--What can we offer them?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Randy Isaac" <randyisaac@comcast.net>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 1:43 PM
Subject: Re: [asa] YEC--What can we offer them?
..........................................
> By the way, in my talk I ended up claiming that, as far as I could tell,
> there has been no case where a scientific theory which has been validated by
> data from many independent sources and which is accepted as consensus by the
> mainstream community, has been later invalidated. I'd love to hear of any
> examples that any of you might think of.
..........................................
I agree with what Randy says up to this point & even here am not so much disagreeing as pointing out that some care is needed, especially in view of ax-grinding criticisms which may be made.

1st, it can be claimed that well-tested theories have been invalidated, an example being the replacement of Newtonian mechanics by relativity & quantum theory. Here it's important to make a distinction between a theory being "invalidated" & it's being shown to have limitations. The latter is the case for Newtonian mechanics, which is correct to a high degree of approximation when speeds are small compared with c, gravitational fields are weak & "action" (energy times time) large compared with Planck's constant. It's a mistake to thing that Newtonian mechanics has been shown to be simply "wrong."

2d, theoretical developments seldom if ever go backwards. We'll almost certainly find that our present forms of relativity & quantum theory have their own limitations but the new "covering theory" for them will be even farther from the common-sense ideas of classical physics: We won't go back to Newton. & we may find that the Darwinian understanding of evolution will have to be changed, but that will not mean going back to special creation & a static picture of the world.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/

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Received on Tue Jul 3 14:14:29 2007