General Science Classification and the periodic table 19 Dec 201227 Jan 2013 It might be thought that classification in the special and historical sciences is occasionally atheoretical, but that in the general sciences, physics and chemistry, it is derived from Theory. But in fact one of the most exemplary cases of empirical classification that led to Theory is in these sciences: the… Read More
Evolution Alien life in Phoenix 10 Jun 2009 I find Paul Davies, the physicist who gets quoted on everything, really annoying sometimes. This is one of those times. Davies appropriates another’s ideas (Carol Cleland’s), arguing that we should look for a “second kind of life” on earth. Then he appropriates yet another’s work (Philippa Uwin’s work on nanobes),… Read More
Evolution Evolution quotes 31 May 2010 Evolution itself, it must be remembered, does not necessarily mean, applied to society, the movement of man to a desirable goal. It is a neutral, scientific conception, compatible either with optimism or with pessimism. According to different estimates it may appear to be a cruel sentence or a guarantee of… Read More
Yes, but – what’s the mathematician’s equivalent of the argumentum ad logicam? Just because a proof is wrong doesn’t mean the conclusion’s wrong. Going by that cartoon, circumcision is wrong. Yet, due to this great iteration, passed down from my forefathers[*] through the dim shades of time, I have a ready explanation for every otherwise inexplicable iota of resentment evinced by my 16 year old son. Religion has a purpose, whatever you philosophers say. [*] Yes, that’s right: you always wondered where that term “forefathers” came from.
Yeah, I know: that is a logical, not mathematical proof after all. Sue me, my background’s in the social sciences.