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And therein lies the reason a lot of people are uneasy about science: it doesn't give you eternal, unchanging answers and absolute TRVTH to depend upon.

It just works to gives you the best answers that the facts then known will support.

When more facts are learned, old theories may be disproven (or shown to be limited) and new ones must be devised.

That's not a bug. That's a feature.

Very often, religion and politics amount to trying to prove that what you believe is right. Good science amounts to a quest to prove that what you believe (today) is wrong, or at least incomplete.

This forum needs an upvote system so when someone posts a Profound Thought it can be recognized as such.

So, science is more about trying to find out what isn't correct.

Basically, futz around and find out.

Alkarii wrote: ↑Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:04 pm So, science is more about trying to find out what isn't correct.

Basically, futz around and find out.

Futz around methodically and find out.

Record what you're about to do, what you expect to happen, and why you expect that. (If you have no idea, you can skip the last two parts.)

If what you're about to do is dangerous, make sure a copy of said record is at a safe distance. Along with another observer.

Do it.

All observers that are still around (hopefully including yourself), record what actually happened.

Warrl wrote: ↑Wed Apr 13, 2022 9:24 am

Alkarii wrote: ↑Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:04 pm So, science is more about trying to find out what isn't correct.

Basically, futz around and find out.

Futz around methodically and find out.

Record what you're about to do, what you expect to happen, and why you expect that. (If you have no idea, you can skip the last two parts.)

If what you're about to do is dangerous, make sure a copy of said record is at a safe distance. Along with another observer.

Do it.

All observers that are still around (hopefully including yourself), record what actually happened.

"The difference between fooling around and science is taking notes of what worked and what didn't." Adam Savage

And figuring out what results are reproducible.

If you can't reproduce them, it's not science.

--FreeFlier

Alkarii wrote: ↑Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:04 pm So, science is more about trying to find out what isn't correct.

Basically, futz around and find out.

I think it was Isaac Asimov who said "The true sound of scientific progress is a long low whistle followed by 'Now, THAT's interesting..."

AnotherFairportfan wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:51 am

Alkarii wrote: ↑Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:04 pm So, science is more about trying to find out what isn't correct.

Basically, futz around and find out.

I think it was Isaac Asimov who said "The true sound of scientific progress is a long low whistle followed by 'Now, THAT's interesting..."

Or, alternatively: "Huh . . . that's weird . . ."

--FreeFlier

In theory a scientific experiment never fails. Either you get more support for your theory, which is good - or you learn something new, which is even better.

In practice, sometimes the new thing you learn is that you forgot to plug in the razzenfratzen detector.

Oh My Dog!, Look at all these Unread Posts!