Robin van Spaandonk
Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:39:59 -0700
In reply to Stephen A. Lawrence's message of Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:53:35 -0400: Hi, [snip] >This is the heart of the issue -- just exactly what is an explanation? >In physics it's hard to say, for me, at least, because I don't know of >any explanations. As far as I know modern physics has none. [snip] I think the bottom line is that there is no such thing as certainty. By definition, an explanation is something that someone has provided, i.e. it comprises a transfer of assumed knowledge. However since there is no such thing as certainty, there is therefore also no such thing as knowledge, and all explanations should be taken with a grain of salt, including this one. ;) BTW proofs are logical derivations based upon assumption, and as such are just as uncertain as explanations. I.e. if the assumptions are wrong or incomplete then so is the proof. BTW none of this means that they are useless, it just means that we really do base our entire existence on faith, even though we are frequently unaware of doing so. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk The shrub is a plant.