I've often discussed with devotees of evolutionary biology (I myself am a creationist, ex nihilo chapter) that we all have the same evidence available to us. Basically, as Douglas Adams put it; "Life, The Universe, ... Everything, really."
What we do not share is the fundamental premise to which we connect this evidence and thus our arguments about what it portends. To wit, I think there is a God and they think there is no God. All else follows (relatively) logically from that beginning.
I do admit to consistently laughing whenever I hear anyone say "the evidence speaks for itself!"
I quietly think to my self: "You can shut up then" but that's my uncharitable side coming out.
Every word in a dictionary is described by words in that dictionary. Meaning does not exist in the dictionary but in a mind that transcends the dictionary; a mind that arranges words into meaningful phrases for the purpose of communicating meaning to other minds.
This circularity also applies to mathematics and Science and in fact any formal system like evolutionary theory. The meaning is not in the system but in the mind that transcends it.
NASA recently hired a data scientist to help with this quandry and she whipped up a Python script to generate a fourth option, "the ensemble model". She was quite smug as she used the meta-algorithms.
I've often discussed with devotees of evolutionary biology (I myself am a creationist, ex nihilo chapter) that we all have the same evidence available to us. Basically, as Douglas Adams put it; "Life, The Universe, ... Everything, really."
What we do not share is the fundamental premise to which we connect this evidence and thus our arguments about what it portends. To wit, I think there is a God and they think there is no God. All else follows (relatively) logically from that beginning.
I do admit to consistently laughing whenever I hear anyone say "the evidence speaks for itself!"
I quietly think to my self: "You can shut up then" but that's my uncharitable side coming out.
Far too often, the phrase, "the evidence speaks for itself!" is simply a variant on, See - correlation is *really* causation.
OR "I choose to interpret that which I see proves that which I believe."
And sadly, "STFU" seldom works.
Every word in a dictionary is described by words in that dictionary. Meaning does not exist in the dictionary but in a mind that transcends the dictionary; a mind that arranges words into meaningful phrases for the purpose of communicating meaning to other minds.
This circularity also applies to mathematics and Science and in fact any formal system like evolutionary theory. The meaning is not in the system but in the mind that transcends it.
William, another thought-provoking lecture—nicely done! But here’s a question: What causes cause? Like QM this stuff can drive you crazy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQiNc_sjMaU
with words (in no way to be taken as endorsement of CN hockey teams):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-7aNUfjkA8
NASA recently hired a data scientist to help with this quandry and she whipped up a Python script to generate a fourth option, "the ensemble model". She was quite smug as she used the meta-algorithms.
Professor Briggs, this is absolutely spectacular!
Thank you!
Aren't you kind to say so, thanks.