On Oct 5, 2008, at 1:59 PM, Jim Devine wrote:
me:
good scientists know that such things as "dark matter" are
speculations or hypotheses and then try to test them.
Shane:
And just how does one "test" for the existence of an inherently
unobservable
entity?
I'll leave that question to a real scientist (i.e., a non-economist),
though I understand that the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland is
supposed to help. But if the presence of "dark matter" cannot be
tested, it will forever be seen as merely speculation.
By the way, the word "dark" does not refer to appearance. Rather, it's
an explicit acknowledgment of the matter's unknown status. I don't
know if it's "inherently unobservable." Even things that can't be
directly observed (like gravity) can have an impact on other entities
(as things fall to earth, etc.)
But gravity is not a "thing"--it is a quantitatively specifiable
pattern of relationship among observable *things*, and scientific
observation proves the existence and specifies the mathematical values
of that pattern. Contrariwise, "dark" as in "dark" matter, "dark"
energy, "black" collapsed stars ("holes") etc., refers to
unobservable *things*. Devotees of counting angels on pinheads can
debate endlessly about whether the unobservability is inherent or
merely reflects the current limitations (both theoretical and actual)
of observational technology. That way they can beg the question of the
*existence* of such things and so avoid recognizing that every
"unexpected" observation--and there are very few others--is in fact
yet another experimental refutation of the astrophysical model from
which their disappointed expectations had been deduced.
Shane Mage
"This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it
always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire,
kindling in measures and going out in measures."
Herakleitos of Ephesos, fr. 30
"entia non multiplicanda sunt sine necessita" (William of Ockeghm)
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