Greetings!
I'm thoroughly enjoying this return to class! I'm presently
reading up on the distinction between science and pseudoscience, and
although much of the information is not new, it feels so good to read it
again! Going back to the basics!
Anyhow, here's a statement from Stephen Gould (1987) as quoted in
Stanovich, (2004):
"What good to science is a lovely idea that cannot, as a matter
of principle, ever be affirmed or denied?"
I wtend to agree with this idea. Of course, falsifiability is an
essential criterion for any idea to be valuable to science. But here's
the question I have:
Have there been cases where a theory (I'm thinking of Einstein's theory
of relativity, for example, with which I am not very familiar) has
seemed very good, but in practical terms, untestable with the tools of
the time (thus unfalsifiable)? And after a certain time period had
elapsed, the theory was shown to hold up when tools were developed?
I'm asking this becasue I already know what will come out in class when
we touch on ESP's... We cannot yet measure the "energies" with the tools
we have. But one day we will... etc.. etc..etc... This definitely
relates to the topic we recently discussed, Healing Touch (which is
starting today at the College... I'll have to go investigate...)
Cheers!
Jean-Marc
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