What do you object to about science?

[InflatableBuddha]

Here comes the science!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBkpzEXAjcs

 

[Babbles]

Science is for suckers that want to work their asses off for very little monetary compensation.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

The only true science is math (sorry math haters)

All other sciences (that aren't solidly grounded in math) are a blind guessing game compared to math.

I don't think you know what science is if you think math is a science.

 

[IronWing]

Science journals don't print babes on the covers.

 

[zerocool84]

Stating theories as facts.

Umm if you can prove your theory with facts then it becomes a fact.

 

[Train]

I don't think you know what science is if you think math is a science.

 

[Kadarin]

It's limited to the physical realm.

What other realms are there, exactly?

 

[PhineasJWhoopee]

Since there's such strong opinions here, there must be something.

I object to the poiticization of science.

 

[SSSnail]

I object to the poiticization of science.

First off, what do you mean by poiticization? And secondly, do you even know what you're objecting?

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Devastating rebuttal.

Go ahead. Explain to me what science is and how math fits in that category.

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[rudeguy]

What's the qualitative difference between the two then, in your view?

Surely a 'fact' is just a theory with a lot of evidence behind it (or, failing that, with a sufficient number of guys with guns behind it).

In that sense, 'evolution' and 'that WW2 ever happened' are both 'facts' and both 'theories'.

A fact is something that is true. The truth will always be true and can't be disputed.

When I was growing up...there were 9 planets. This was ingrained into us as fact. Now there are only 8. I don't know how many times the universe has gotten older in my life.

I don't dispute science....I just don't put faith in it.

 

[Ruptga]

A fact is something that is true. The truth will always be true and can't be disputed.

When I was growing up...there were 9 planets. This was ingrained into us as fact. Now there are only 8. I don't know how many times the universe has gotten older in my life.

I don't dispute science....I just don't put faith in it.

I like science because it is capable of admitting it was wrong or inaccurate once it realizes it. Compare with Catholicism which has a large well-known problem with pedophilia, all they ever do about that is sweep it under the rug while continuing to send the Pope out for moral guidance. You could also compare it with every Christian Fundamentalist in existence; they all refuse to believe that anything could be even slightly different than they believe. I'd bash on some Asian religions too but I don't have any experience with them. /tangent

Look, the planets thing was them refining their definition of a planet. If Pluto was to remain a planet we would have added to the list about four other things that most wouldn't consider very planet-like. The universe "gets older" for similar reasons - we got a better understanding of what actually happened and that changed our prediction.

 

[kami333]

Pretty much the only things I object to are the subjects most scientists would consider inhumane. Human cloning, human testing, etc...

The only part I don't like about science are the ridiculously high costs. Our lab spends an absurd amount of money on disposable plastic goods, and I can't really understand why they're so expensive in the first place. Oh well.

edit: If I typed all that for a parody thread, then I'm pissed.

Gah, don't get me started on the science markup.

20L Nalgene polypropylene carboy:

$258 from Fisher, ~$220 after our discount
$485 from Nalgene Labware, ~$200 after discount
$112 from Nalgene consumer website

 

[ShawnD1]

Umm if you can prove your theory with facts then it becomes a fact.

Theories are called theories because they tend to change a lot and are never 100% correct.

Start with facts. I drop a rock and it falls. This is the fact of gravity - things fall down. Then I write a vague rule to explain what conditions will make the rock fall. This would be called the law of gravity - matter attracts matter. From there I can start getting a bit more sketchy and try to explain why matter would attract other matter. This would be called the theory of gravity - an explanation for why the law of gravity is true.

Scientific theories are also like conspiracy theories. Start with a fact - JFK is shot in the head. Then I make a statement to explain what happening - JFK's head attracts bullets. Then I try to write an explanation for why someone would want to kill JFK; this is the theory part of it. Fact: Oswald is a nutter, theory: he killed JFK because he's a nutter. Fact: JFK had enemies, theory: those enemies are somehow responsible. Fact: god hates JFK, theory: god killed JFK with his mind bullets.

 

[kami333]

^^^

Thank you. I started to type a reply but this is better.

 

[MotF Bane]

Gah, don't get me started on the science markup.

20L Nalgene polypropylene carboy:

$258 from Fisher, ~$220 after our discount
$485 from Nalgene Labware, ~$200 after discount
$112 from Nalgene consumer website

Fisher just doesn't give a fuck about their customers either in my experience.

 

[caddlad]

What other realms are there, exactly?

Derr..Mordor.

 

[Train]

Devastating rebuttal.

Go ahead. Explain to me what science is and how math fits in that category.

I'm looking forward to it.

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=is+math+a+science

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=is+math+a+science

So you don't have an answer.

Pretty much what I expected.

 

[Train]

So you don't have an answer.

Pretty much what I expected.

Yes math is a science. You could split hairs and say otherwise. Most people would say "well if you bend the definition enough you could say either way"

trying to act as if the answer is as definitive as 2+2 is fucking childish. Yes I am avoiding a dumbass flaming slugfest with you. It would be a complete waste of time.

 

[db]

Some religious extremists don't like science b/c it doesn't support their version of things. Their reasoning is that if you are not in their camp then you are in the enemy's camp. So they have declared ideological war against "science". It's about control and the perceived threat to their control.

 

[pmv]

Yes math is a science. You could split hairs and say otherwise. Most people would say "well if you bend the definition enough you could say either way"

trying to act as if the answer is as definitive as 2+2 is fucking childish. Yes I am avoiding a dumbass flaming slugfest with you. It would be a complete waste of time.

I wouldn't call maths a science.

But I'm almost certain there are philosophers out there who could construct a plausible argument to say it is. I don't think I know enough philosophy to justify why its not a science (ir probably depends on whether mathamatical truths are analytic or synthetic or something like that), but personally I just wouldn't call it one. Its still awesome though, its the closest thing we have to magic (by which I mean, you take some knowledge of the world, apply these seemingly entirely abstract tools to manipulate that knowledge, and a useful prediction about the real world drops out the other side, its just amazing we can do that).

 

[pmv]

A fact is something that is true. The truth will always be true and can't be disputed.

When I was growing up...there were 9 planets. This was ingrained into us as fact. Now there are only 8. I don't know how many times the universe has gotten older in my life.

I don't dispute science....I just don't put faith in it.

Saying 'a fact is something that is true' doesn't help unless you say how we decide what's true. Seems to me it comes straight back to 'a theory with lots of supporting evidence'. What persuades you its true is the evidence. And we are sure about truth to varying degrees depending on how strong the evidence appears to be.

And surely science is a method and a practice not a collection of facts?. It appears to be the best means we have to find the facts. Science is how it was discovered that their was a problem with how the word 'planet' was defined.

 

[NinjaTech]

I object to being told I'm the descendant of a monkey. I object to being told that the world was created by accident. I object to being told that all followers of Christ are weak minded, uneducated lemmings. I object to some scientists being elitist, pompous a$$hats.

That's it for now.

 

[ShawnD1]

I object to being told that all followers of Christ are weak minded, uneducated lemmings.

You are told this one because it's statistically true. Religiosity and intelligence have a fairly good correlation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence

In 2008, intelligence researcher Helmuth Nyborg examined whether IQ relates to denomination and income, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, which includes intelligence tests on a representative selection of American youth, where they have also replied to questions about religious belief. His results, published in the scientific journal Intelligence demonstrated that on average, Atheists scored 1.95 IQ points higher than Agnostics, 3.82 points higher than Liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than Dogmatic persuasions. [4] "I'm not saying that believing in God makes you dumber. My hypothesis is that people with a low intelligence are more easily drawn toward religions, which give answers that are certain, while people with a high intelligence are more skeptical," says the professor.[5]

Basically the answer is that smart people don't try to draw conclusions until they have enough evidence.

For something like religion, positive claims require positive evidence. If someone says there is a god, that someone needs to show evidence. The default answer is atheism until more evidence is shown.

Other intelligent people might believe there is some kind of god, but try to avoid making any solid claims about that god such as how many gods, things they did, how important their role in life is, etc; there are lots of people who are religious but still think for themselves.

People who are profoundly retarded go all the way to the end of the spectrum. They will have absolutely unshakable belief with absolutely no evidence. They will make claims about what god wants or things god has done even though they have no evidence. They will start wars over religion and they will die for religion. Stupid people don't need evidence. All you need to tell a stupid person is that blowing yourself up means you go straight to heaven, and they'll actually do it.