On Oct 5, 2008, at 2:06 PM, Bill O'Connor wrote:
Shane Mage <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
And just how does one "test" for the existence of an inherently
unobservable entity?
I see that astronomers can "see" planets circling far away stars by
observing the wobble of the star cause by the planet's gravity...
That is a deduction which will or will not stand up to a modest
increase in the resolving power of our telescopes. But if a
sufficient increase in telescopic resolution shows no planet, leaving
that "wobble" unexplained, what should one think of an astronomer who
reacted by saying "that planet is really there, all right--we just
don't see it because it is made of dark matter?"
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
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