Religion and Ethics Forum

General Category => Science and Technology => Topic started by: Nearly Sane on January 02, 2018, 02:11:28 PM

Title: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: Nearly Sane on January 02, 2018, 02:11:28 PM

Interesting little essay on the value of thought experiments.



https://aeon.co/essays/do-thought-experiments-really-uncover-new-scientific-truths

Title: Re: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: floo on January 02, 2018, 02:19:53 PM

Quote from: Nearly Sane on January 02, 2018, 02:11:28 PM

Interesting little essay on the value of thought experiments.



https://aeon.co/essays/do-thought-experiments-really-uncover-new-scientific-truths

It looks interesting, although I won't pretend to understand it all.

Title: Re: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: Nearly Sane on January 02, 2018, 02:24:41 PM

Quote from: Littleroses on January 02, 2018, 02:19:53 PM

It looks interesting, although I won't pretend to understand it all.

As long as it promote interesting questions, then that's good. I doubt that people understand all of what they write never mind what other's write.

Title: Re: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: Harrowby Hall on January 02, 2018, 03:06:08 PM

I'm tempted to think that the most useful bit was the quotation from Feynman - "philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds".

Title: Re: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: jeremyp on January 03, 2018, 08:21:25 PM

Thought experiments are useful although they must be used with caution. For example Galileo's famous thought experiment about why heavy objects must fall at the same rate as light objects is fallacious.

Title: Re: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: Walter on January 04, 2018, 11:41:34 PM

Quote from: Harrowby Hall on January 02, 2018, 03:06:08 PM

I'm tempted to think that the most useful bit was the quotation from Feynman - "philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds".

yes , I like that one ,says it all really .

Title: Re: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: Free Willy on January 07, 2018, 10:55:37 AM

Quote from: Harrowby Hall on January 02, 2018, 03:06:08 PM

I'm tempted to think that the most useful bit was the quotation from Feynman - "philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds".

or as useful as Feynman diagrams are to people who aren't having their particle hobby indulged by payment, eh Hall? ;)

Title: Re: Thought experiments and science.
Post by: Free Willy on January 07, 2018, 11:28:29 AM

Quote from: Nearly Sane on January 02, 2018, 02:11:28 PM

Interesting little essay on the value of thought experiments.



https://aeon.co/essays/do-thought-experiments-really-uncover-new-scientific-truths

A Paeon from Aeon to Dennett?