The following are paraphrases from the article the editor condenses and that I'll ref at the end. Each "myth" is treated at much greater length in the original article. -DP
Myth 1: Hypotheses turn into theories which eventually become enshrined as laws.
Myth 2: Hypotheses are really only educated guesses.
Myth 3: There exists a scientific method that is general and universal.
Myth 4: Certainty results when facts are accumulated and analyzed.
Myth 5: The scientific method leads to absolute truth.
Myth 6: Science is less creative than it is procedural.
Myth 7: All questions posed by the universe can be answered via the scientific method.
Myth 8: High objectivity is the hallmark of science.
Myth 9: Scientific knowledge is based mainly on experiment.
Myth 10: Scientists always review and check the work of their colleagues.
(excerpted from McComas, William; "Ten Myths of Science: Re-examining What We Think We Know. . ." School Science & Mathematics, vol 96, Jan 1, 1996.)
Articles
ZEN . . . AND THE ART OF DEBUNKERY Or, How to Debunk Just About Anything A MUST READ!!!
INTRODUCTION
So you've had a close encounter with a UFO or its occupants. Or maybe you've experienced an "impossible" healing or a perfectly cogent conversation with your dead uncle, and you've begun to suspect that the official view of reality isn't the whole picture. Mention any of these things to most working scientists and be prepared for anything from patronizing cynicism to merciless ridicule. After all, science is a purely hard-nosed enterprise that should have little patience for "expanded" notions of reality. Right?
Contrasting Research Strategies From an article in "Physics Today" about Goethe's experiments with color
Newton's and Goethe's respective approaches to color illustrate two very different approaches to experimental research. We call them theory-oriented and exploratory experimentation. Theory-oriented experimentation is often regarded as the only relevant kind: It corresponds roughly to the "standard" view in the philosophy of science that experiments are designed with previously formulated theories in mind and serve primarily to test or demonstrate them. Such a view was stated forcefully by Karl Popper, who wrote, "The theoretician puts certain definite questions to the experimenter, and the latter, by his experiments, tries to elicit a decisive answer to these questions, and to no others. . . . Theory dominates the experimental work from its initial planning up to the finishing touches in the laboratory." According to this view, it makes sense to perform an isolated experiment, and in particular an experimentum crucis, designed to judge between competing hypotheses. Newton largely followed such an approach in his experiments on color. FULL ARTICLE HERE
Buryl Payne invents highly unusual things, some of which call into question much of standard fizzix. One exciting one on this site is the “spin force around humans” and the very simple “biofield meter” to measure it. http://buryl.com/index.htm Want to be inundated with anomalies and ooparts of every kind imaginable aside from UFOs? William Corliss has been collecting them and publishing a newsletter about new ones for many years. Several books too. There are so many, and they’re so varied it’s a wonder mainstream science has survived. A modern Charles Fort. Maybe better. http://www.science-frontiers.com/index.htm
Will computational intelligence overtake human smarts at some definitive point in the not-too-distant future? This conference gathered the leading lights addressing this question. http://sss.stanford.edu/
[from the website:] “’The Anomalist’ is a daily review of world news on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries.” Very intelligent treatments of the subjects. No new age fluff. Recommended. http://www.anomalist.com/
Mysteries and ooparts a-plenty, frequently updated with anomalies around the world, UFO-ish, archaeological and pioneer-scientific. http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/ Lost civilizations, ancient ruins, sacred writings, science mysteries, much more. Articles, books, news, updated regularly. http://www.world-mysteries.com/
A semi-chronological listing of the various inventions in the USA since the 1920s that have never made it into the public eye, but many of which are undoubtedly viable. Especially painful is the Pogue carburetor history. Possibly 200mpg!! Many demo units, never allowed to be commercialized. http://befreetech.com/suppressed_inventions.htm
Just about the only peer-reviewed journal in the USA dealing with anomalous subject matter of all kinds. A distinguished editorial board, many from Stanford. Often exciting reading. http://www.scientificexploration.org/index.html
How often have we heard the old debunker standby, "Since the laws of physics apply everywhere throughout the universe, it's simply not possible for UFOs to behave in the manner which witnesses describe. Therefore, UFOs cannot exist. Neener-neener."
Well, witness the first humongous hole punched in that incredible level of arrogance:
"It is amazing that in the sub-micro world of the atom, quantum physics requires the perpetual motion of particles both as to spin and orbital motions. In the macro world, science is based on the law that a perpetual motion machine is absolutely impossible. That is the state of today's science?"
-John W. Ecklin
"In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it."
-John A. Wheeler
"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are that good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."
-Howard Aiken
"Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't."
-Mark Twain
"It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth.' and so it goes away. Puzzling."
-R. Pirsig
"You can recognize the pioneer by the arrows in his back."
-Beverly Rubik
"Penetrating so many secrets, we cease to believe in the unknowable. But there it sits nevertheless, calmly licking its chops."
-H.L. Mencken
I wonder why. I wonder why. I wonder why I wonder. I wonder why I wonder why I wonder why I wonder!
-Richard P. Feynman
Yogi Berra said, “It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future,” and how right he was. But there is one more point to keep in mind. If you're trying to project the long-term future, and what you get sounds like science fiction, you might be wrong. But if it doesn't sound like science fiction, it's definitely wrong.
-Christine Peterson, nanotechnology expert and participant in the 2007 Singularity Summit at Stanford U
Books
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