Re: O'Barr: The purpose of science.

Gerald L. O'Barr:
>O'Barr: The purpose of science.
>Gerald L. O'Barr (globarr)
>
> The very purpose of science, and the research
>associated with science, is to make our reality
>understandable.

Therein lies your first misconception. The purpose of doing
science is to try and understand nature. If nature is hard to
understand, you'll just have to get over it, since nature isn't
going to change for your sake. Studying science is about making
what scienists discover about nature understandable.

>When things are seen that do not make sense, then science is used
>to make them make sense. This is what progress is all about.

Therein lies your second misconception. Scientists don't decide
for nature what makes sense. Nature tells scientists what makes
sense. Progress is all about being able to overcome preconceptions
and accept what nature did rather than insist that nature cave in
to your misconceptions.

> These things that do not make sense might all be
>facts, but just because they are known facts do not
>mean they make sense.

Therein lies your third misconception. If you find that facts
don't make sense, the answer is not to try and change the facts
to fit your idea of what makes sense, but to change your idea
of what makes sense to fit the facts.

>Whether it is the sun that comes up every morning, or tides, any
>fact can be mysterious or unexplainable.

Especially if you want to play scientist without having studied any
science.

[*usual drivel snipped*]

.

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