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

Precisely what I had in mind. Hence the word "invalidated" rather than modified, limited, refined, expanded, or whatever

Thanks.
Randy
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: George Murphy
  To: Randy Isaac ; asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 2:13 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] YEC--What can we offer them?

  ....

  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 17:30:03 2007