Ernie: I like "fudge factor;" it is also used in architecture to accommodate
small discrepancies in calculations that, in practical terms, don't mean too much. Like being off 1/64th of an inch when the job allows for, say, wood shrinkage of 1/32 of an inch. Clearly the fudge factor can apply to other problems, like generalizations about history. Think I'll stick with Professor Borrowdale on the usefulness of the junk concept at least in some cases, those that don't ruffle the feathers of people in the physics community ;-) About laws of history, I should tell you that they beat this idea out of our heads in history grad school. I mean, who doesn't want to come up with a nice glossy law of how history works? I sure do, and way back when it was sort of a passion. But that was before my MA program and everyone got serious about what will fly and what will not. "So you think you have discovered a law of history, do you?" "Yes, sir, its all written out here for you to review." "Dammit, how many times do I have to tell you that there are NO laws of history?" "But sir, if you will just look at my paper..." "I don't have time for such nonsense." At which the professor takes out a long sturdy stick and says, "assume the position." WHACK. "Do you still believe there are laws of history?" "Well, yes, because..." WHACK WHACK WHACK "Now do you still believe there are laws of history?" "Owww, that is painful, owww, no sir, not any more." (cry, cry, cry) Maybe this explains things better.... B. ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Centroids <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, December 17, 2018 2:58 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Billy Rojas Subject: Re: [RC] F= M+A+ Junk ? @#% +22+ZX=wth Hi Billy, I do think that the "junk" metaphor is useful, but technically you may well be quite right. Actually, the more technical term is “fudge factor.” :-). That is an extra term added to your formal theory in order to match reality. In fact Einstein incorrectly added one himself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_constant Cosmological constant<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_constant> en.wikipedia.org In cosmology, the cosmological constant (usually denoted by the Greek capital letter lambda: Λ) is the energy density of space, or vacuum energy, that... Also, it IS often quite useful to rewrite equations using “relativistic corrections” that are small perturbations against the classical version. So your instincts weren’t that far off. Just don’t call them junk. :-) E When it comes to physics you lost me around paragraph #2, so I don't know nearly enough to tell if there really is or is not some "junk" to allow for in the science involved. But the value of the "junk hypothesis" in the social sciences is that it makes us -your favorite word- humble when thinking we can devise laws of history when all that is currently possible are generalizations or maybe (maybe) weak laws that rest upon strong generalizations. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Google Groups<http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism> groups.google.com Google Groups allows you to create and participate in online forums and email-based groups with a rich experience for community conversations. Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org [https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/becade87f4704f1f93c3ca0278c4fda6?s=200&ts=1545098216]<http://radicalcentrism.org/> Radical Centrism | A Unifying Paradigm of Civil Society<http://radicalcentrism.org/> radicalcentrism.org A Unifying Paradigm of Civil Society --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
