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Originally posted by TheWalkingFox
As the poster above you noted, this is not a "theory." It's speculation, and has no data. It's not that it's outside the box that bugs me. Outside the box is fine. Speculation is fine. Making no sense at all? Not so fine.
Originally posted by TheColdDragon
Originally posted by Harte
Absurd.
Of course absence of evidence is evidence of absence.
What the heck else could possibly be evidence of absence?
What if absence is true? What evidence of a non-presence could there possibly be, except for the absence of evidence for any presence?
Harte
There is no evidence that I am a highly efficient artificial mimetic intelligence. It also isn't likely... that does not mean that it is impossible that such could be true in another case. Indeed, one could posit that it is an eventual probability reaching towards 100% to occur some time in the near future.
Originally posted by TheColdDragonNo evidence of it occurring now, of course.
I recall science placing the wrong head on a set of bones and proclaiming it "Brontosaurus" for several decades. It was a misconception of evidence.
Originally posted by TheColdDragonLikewise, in order to find evidence you must first look where evidence is likely to be. Then you must interpret the evidence. Often, evidence is interpreted vis a vis a previously existent understanding which may or may not be based off of specious understanding, biased also by previously held theories, thoughts, and ideas. Thusly, even the most detailed of world views is suspect if key components are found to be in error... much like a house of cards.
Originally posted by TheColdDragonIf you care to respond to the other postulates as to why there is lack of evidence, I think it would create a better dialogue than merely plucking out a phrase from my post and making a reductum ad absurdum argument to be dismissive of the rest.
Originally posted by TheColdDragonScience at one point had no evidence of Black Holes, gravity, relativity. That did not mean they did not exist.
Originally posted by TheColdDragonLikewise, the currently held theories and ideas put forward by our race aren't necessarily accurate or true.
Originally posted by TheColdDragonThey merely make the most sense to those who pretend at knowledge.
Originally posted by Harte
Yet long before they had hard evidence for any of this, they had theories that made predictions. Then experiments were set up to see if the predictions came true. Some of them (namely the relativity and the black hole theories) turned out precisely as the mathematics had predicted.
Originally posted by Harte
What the heck else could possibly be evidence of absence?
What if absence is true? What evidence of a non-presence could there possibly be, except for the absence of evidence for any presence?
So, why are you changing the subject here?
That is true. But if they had found no skeleton at all, would that constitute evidence that such a dinosaur never existed? Of course it would, what else would be evidence that something never existed?
BTW, when was the last time you saw a pseudoscientist come out and say, "Gee, folks, I had it wrong. See, this new finding provides evidence that my previous theory was off track. A new theory is required ?"
merely pointing out that your absence of evidence comment provides no support whatsoever for the subject to which you were trying to apply it.
an example for precisely what evidence of absence would be?
See what I mean? Evidence can only indicate a thing in archaeology. Absence of evidence is then evidence in and of itself. And if not evidence of absence, then what is it evidence of?
Originally posted by mikesingh
Originally posted by Harte
Yet long before they had hard evidence for any of this, they had theories that made predictions. Then experiments were set up to see if the predictions came true. Some of them (namely the relativity and the black hole theories) turned out precisely as the mathematics had predicted.
Black Holes? According to astrophysicist DH Menzel, Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass., the equation for the gravitational radius of a black hole derived from the Einstein field equations is entirely a mathematical relationship and therefore black holes cannot exist. A derivation is given for the Yilmaz metric, which disposes of the concept of black holes but allows red holes, infrared holes, and radio holes produced as a consequence of the gravitational redshift.
So after decades long calculations inferring, deducing and 'proving' the reality of the existence of black holes from so called mathematical calculations, we now have scientists saying that black cannot exist!! So you are way off course when you contend that "black hole theories turned out precisely as the mathematics had predicted." They didn't!
In other words, we know next to nix about the universe! Hypotheses, conjectures, inferences, theories, all borne out from so called mathematical calculations? So what happened? Many of the predicted themes based on calculations and scientific models and paradigms are falling apart as newer discoveries are being made.
Cheers!
Originally posted by Harte
Now, that being said, the General Theory of Relativity is just a theory. It has obvious and glaring drawbacks, chief among them is that it can't (apparently) be applied at the quantum level. There is a complete disconnect, in fact, between what QM tells us about space and what the GTR tells us - for example, QM says space is quantized (Planck length) and GTR tells us it is a continuum.
These two views cannot be reconciled, so one theory or the other, or both, is (are) already butting up against the walls of their own intrinsic limits.
Originally posted by TheColdDragon
Originally posted by Harte
What the heck else could possibly be evidence of absence?
What if absence is true? What evidence of a non-presence could there possibly be, except for the absence of evidence for any presence?
The problem, friend, is that you can't have evidence or proof of a negative concept such as absence. All you can say is that there has been no proof as of yet, and that there is proof for another theory.
It would essentially be as if I asked you to prove that I had never held a rolex watch in my hand. You have no evidence that I did, it doesn't mean I haven't. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. While you apparently say that this was used in an ironic or sarcastic fashion, this is the manner in which I use that term.
Originally posted by TheColdDragon
That is true. But if they had found no skeleton at all, would that constitute evidence that such a dinosaur never existed? Of course it would, what else would be evidence that something never existed?
If they had found no skeleton, it only means that they found no skeleton, not that such a skeleton doesn't exist. That is science. Surmising that something doesn't exist because you haven't witnessed it is the kind of bald-faced hypocrisy plaguing the establishment nowadays. It tends to lend itself to rejecting evidence that doesn't fit merely for the sake of a satisfactory whole.
Originally posted by TheColdDragon
BTW, when was the last time you saw a pseudoscientist come out and say, "Gee, folks, I had it wrong. See, this new finding provides evidence that my previous theory was off track. A new theory is required ?"
This is an ad hominem directed at people who you feel are pseudoscientists.
Originally posted by Harte
The bolded items above show that you use "evidence" and "proof" interchangeably. That's fine, but wrong.
Why don't you address my scenario about the Inuit in Florida? I think that suich a scenario will reveal the differences in what we mean when we say evidence.
Please. I know who i'm talking about, even if you don't. In fact, if you don't, I'm glad you don't.
That was no attack - it was me commenting on how theories work - and how they don't work.
Talk about ad hominem, what about your "pretending at knowledge" comment?
Harte
Originally posted by TheColdDragon
It doesn't change that having no evidence doesn't constitute evidence. Having nothing is not having something, in fact, it constitutes the opposite. Thusly, having no evidence doesn't support the idea that the evidence doesn't exist.
Originally posted by merka
So basicly what you are saying is that anything is possible because we havent found evidence for it?
I'd disagree. Absence of evidence is certainly evidence of absence as long as you're always ready to revise it when evidence appear.
Its when you arent willing to revise it (like pseudoscientists regurgitating the same claim despite evidence of the opposite) that it doesnt work.
Originally posted by TheColdDragon
It is not evidence FOR absence if you have no evidence.
Possibly the strongest evidence for it to be a 'hollow ob-ject'(sic) comes from the fact that when meteors strike the Moon, the latter rings like a bell. More specifically when the Apollo crew in November 20, 1969 released the lunar module, after returning to the orbiter, the module impact with the Moon caused their seismic equipment to register a continuous reverberation like a bell for more than an hour. The same effect occurred with Apollo 13's third stage which caused the Moon to ring for over three hours. So what's going on with the Moon?
These "mascons" were discovered by the Lunar Orbiter series of space missions of the late 1960's. NASA reported that the gravitational pull caused by these mascons was so pronounced that the spacecraft dipped slightly and accelerated when flitting by the circular lunar plains.
This showed that there must be some hidden structures of some kind of dense, heavy matter centered like a bulls eye under the circular maria.
No scientist has ever accounted for how these mascons got there or could have been formed by random natural processes.