"In 500 years time

-
the scientific community may well have moved on from QM [Quantum Mechanics] to have replaced it with something better. However, I'm sure the kind of people who currently believe in astrology, or dowsing, or homeopathy, or young earth creationism, will embrace it and refuse to let it go because of its (then) long-standing and traditionalism, despite evidence to the contrary." - Karellen, blog comment at The Old New Thing

Comments

Anonymous said…
It sounds kind of wired, but who knows - in 500 years?

btw: Haven't seen you around for a while? Wishing you a lovely end to your week!
September 14, 2007 4:21 PM
Richard said…
rennyba: work has been occupying my brain cells the past few weeks, leaving me with little with which compose my own thoughts.

I don't think it is that weird. Many certain and respectable ideas over the past 500 years are now quaint and obsolete.
September 14, 2007 8:26 PM
Tena Russ said…
In 500 years time
the scientific community may well have moved on from QM [Quantum Mechanics] to have replaced it with something better.

Better? Probably just newer theories that are no closer to the "truth" than we are now. Just IMHO.
September 15, 2007 10:17 PM
Richard said…
tena: I think we are slowly progressing toward the truth. The problem is that people's pride and prejudice keep getting in the way causing them to hold on to and promote ideas that just don't work.

A little over a hundred years ago Lord Kelvin (president of the Royal Society and distinguished scientist) declared that heavier than air flight was impossible. Before Louis Pasteur, people believed organisms spontaneously arose (actually, we are kind of back to that with quantum mechanics).

The problem is not the ideas, but the use of those ideas to hinder and impede exploration of new ideas (it is actually quite endemic to science - even if they wish to pretend it is not. Of course, it is endemic anywhere humans are involved).

Just think of the money that has been spent over the past 30+ years in the "war on cancer" and we are not really any closer to a cure today than we were 30 years ago. Except in the cases of breast cancer and leukemia, survival rates are barely any better than they were back then.
September 19, 2007 11:32 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chinese Wisdom Concerning Money

-
[19September-2007 @ 17:11 EST: Revised preamble. This page still gets the most search hits: There is no Anthony de Croud. The e-mail is SPAM. I post things that pique my fancy at the moment. I like the 8 precepts, but the rest of the e-mail is junk. However, I thought it fair to post everything in its entirety. I did not write the e-mail. I did not forward the e-mail. I strongly encourage you not to forward it either. (I also encourage you to reply to whomever sent you the e-mail and tell them you don't appreciate getting junk mail.)] Received this in our e-mail (English translation follows): PRECEPTO CHINO SOBRE EL DINERO EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CASA, PERO NO UN HOGAR, EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN RELOJ, PERO NO EL TIEMPO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA CAMA, PERO NO EL SUEÑO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UN LIBRO, PERO NO EL CONOCIMIENTO. EL DINERO PUEDE PAGAR UN MÉDICO, PERO NO LA SALUD. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR UNA POSICIÓN, PERO NO EL RESPETO. EL DINERO PUEDE COMPRAR LA SANGRE, PERO
Read more

Risky Singapore?

-
CBC Radio had a documentary on Singapore and its lack of risk taking yesterday (only just heard it this morning). Since I know there are 1 or 2 Singaporean readers of this blog, I am curious to know how accurate the documentary is. I find that people often have mistaken impressions about other cultures and people. You can hear it here .
Read more

Why you should regularly visit your dentist.

-
I hadn't been to my dentist since May-2004 (normally I went on weekends, but since Sofia and the kids moved to Montreal, I am not in Ottawa on the weekends). Last night, as I was munching on some cashews, I felt a pain in one of my molars and then some grit in my mouth. I went and washed it out, assuming that maybe there had been a stone or something amount the cashews. Turns out I noticed a hole in the surface of the molar (top right, second from the back, my wisdom teeth were removed years ago). Fishing around for grit in my mouth, it looked like crumbled filling. So I assumed that my filling had cracked and crumbled and come out. Went to the dentist this morning, he took an x-ray and came back with bad news. I have a large cavity under the filling, which gave way. The filling did not fall out, but rather impacted into the space of the cavity. He did not rework the filling, since the cavity is very near the root - cleaning it out would likely result in exposing the root. As some
Read more