Wilkins on demarcation 13 Aug 201413 Aug 2014 Continuing Adam Ford’s series of me as a talking head: Epistemology Philosophy Science
History Quote: Nominalism 16 Feb 201216 Feb 2012 Nominalism has often been misunderstood in the past, perhaps because of the associations of the word itself. Properly conceived, nominalism has nothing to do with names. It is, quite precisely, the thesis that everything which exists is an individual, and is moreover an individual in itself, and not merely as a… Read More
Epistemology Rapture and risk 22 May 201122 Jun 2018 So, if you are reading this, then the Rapture didn’t take you. I spent a fair bit of May 21 Tweeting various ways in which it didn’t happen in Australia. A bit of harmless fun, but I noted something as I did so: every so often I had a twinge… Read More
When one says “anything goes”, does that include “whistling Dixie”, or “playing Calvinball”, or “knock-knock” jokes? And if one entertains the idea that someday someone which produce something which looks like real science, but includes “intelligent design”? Well, what precludes a real scientific theory which includes also whistling Dixie?
The likelihoods of science requiring “Whistling Dixie” are slightly higher than the likelihoods it involves Intelligent Design. I’ve seen a few experiments that needed something nearly as arbitrary as a song to work.