Hi Brian et al,
At 09:32 AM 2/3/2002 Sunday , you wrote:
>
> Brian,
>
> I didn't say there was an order in the universe.
>
> I suggested that scientists are obliged to assume there is.
>
> Also, that they must assume that they can find it.
>
> What else is there?
>
> And what if it is a musical order? What a delightful thought.
>
> I bet Ray would like that.
>
> But what if it is cacophony? Then we are done. We cannot find an order where
> there is no order.
[snip]
There is more than one kind of order. Even chaotic systems display order.
Statistically, certain types of physical events can occur with greater
frequency than others. Almost any very complex system appears chaotic at
first and may be chaotic at the micro level even when well understood
at the macro level.
So looking for simple rules for complex beings like humans may be a
fools errand. Humans exhibit all kinds of irrational behaviors when
viewed from any one viewpoint. So trying to predict human behavior
in an economic sense while ignoring humanitarian or sexual drives is
almost sure to fare poorly.
I fail to see any axioms proclaimed in this discussion that are
sufficiently obvious to me to claim such a title. I think we will
need to go much deeper into the human mind before we succeed.
Scientists themselves have many motivations. Some do it for the wages
they earn. Some for the intellectual pleasure. Some to remove themselves
from the popular culture. Some are responding to compulsive drives.
The same can be said for climbing mountains. Or chatting on email
lists for that matter.
Dennis Paull
Half Moon Bay, California
