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Showing posts from November 13, 2020

Is Science Something One Believes in?

I heartily recommend Robert Tracinski's "Why I Don't 'Believe' in 'Science.'" Please don't think you know what you'll find in it. Tracinski says things that are worth saying and digesting. Pertinent quote: Some people may use “I believe in science” as vague shorthand for confidence in the ability of the scientific method to achieve valid results, or maybe for the view that the universe is governed by natural laws which are discoverable through observation and reasoning. But the way most people use it today—especially in a political context—is pretty much the opposite. They use it as a way of declaring belief in a proposition which is outside their knowledge and which they do not understand. There are a lot of people these days who like things that sound science-y, but have little patience for actual science. These are the kind of people who gush when Elon Musk tells them he’s going to put a million people on Mars but seem less excited about di