Quotes
One of the teachings in Buddhism is that the world (Universe) is perfect as it is and it is our ego that puts different spins on it. Although science does not say anything on this, it points to the fact we are here because each moment before, in different spaces and times, brought us where and when we are, Now. So, that is perfection because the physical laws that govern everything have been perfectly followed without violation, including the twists and sudden changes.
Goodhart’s Law is expressed simply as: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” In other words, when we set one specific goal, people will tend to optimize for that objective regardless of the consequences. This leads to problems when we neglect other equally important aspects of a situation.
We’ve arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces.- Carl Sagan 1995
The key idea, in society as well as physics, is that we must be relationalists as well as realists. That is, the properties we believe are real are not intrinsic or fixed, rather they concern relationships between dynamical actors (or degrees of freedom) and are themselves dynamical. This switch from Newton’s absolute ontology to Leibniz’s relational view of space and time has been the core idea behind the triumph of general relativity. I believe this philosophy also has a role to play in helping us shape the next stage of democracy, one suited to diverse, multicultural societies, which are continually evolving.-Lee Smolin (talking about Einsteins’s unfinished Revolution)
Wisdom from a Yahoo Reader Chuck: It’s not wise to underestimate (blind) ignorance, as we sometimes tend to do . Vegas wasn’t built on winners , religious cults rake in billions ,, and Hitler didn’t kill 20 million all by himself.
Every scientific “school” I know anything about has its theologians, and they perform a singularly useful — perhaps even indispensable — service. They clarify the “position,” showing what one is committed to if one does science in that way, and this not only sharpens the edges of the theories so that they can better be put to empirical test for confirmation and disconfirmation, it also generates new questions and problems for the theorists and experimentalists to explore.
There is good scientific theology and bad scientific theology; however; one of the benchmarks of excellence is forthrightness and explicitness of claims — leading with one’s chin and giving the skeptics and critics an unmistakable target to challenge., but then discover that they don’t mean what they seem at first to mean since the host of obvious counterinstances one could cite not count against the claim, for one reason or another. (see also - Kenopanishad and Karl Popper).-Daniel Dennette in “Wishful Thinking”
Science starts with looking at what is possible, then at what is probable and then goes about proving/disproving. It does not accept a conclusion (reserves judgment) until evidence is available from more than one source/method that is consistent with laws and may cautiously dismiss it if even one evidence is against it.. Remind you of something else? Yes, Laws and courts considering a criminal case.