Machines Like Us – Science News

Just read this entry by Mano Singham. Very well done and highly recommended. I'm not sure I'm sold, but it does give food for thought.

There is only one piece of it that I have a problem with. It has much more to do with the way things get labeled in discussions of atheism more than the merits or not of the arguments.

And I found it here, "But just as scientists are perfectly justified in rejecting as irrational that kind of hypothesis when applied to a third charge and confidently proceeding on the basis that it is false, so it is that we can confidently reject the arguments currently given for the existence of god." [emphasis added]

I suggest a less abrasive category: pending evidence or proof from the proponents. I know this doesn't have the "bite" to it that atheists might want. But I suggest it is more accurate.

For example, in the discussion about unicorns in an office that appear with no effect, what harm does it do to tell the proponents of the argument that you will patiently await their evidence? None that I can see. In fact it has a very powerful effect in putting the responsibility of proof right back where it belongs: on those claiming extraordinary things.

Hitting the nail on the head: in science - how often has it been that an orthodoxy has built up around an idea (for example, Global Warming). And woe be it to those who even question the party line.

My suggestion helps to avoid the building of orthodoxies - whether they be religious or scientific or anything else.

Doing as I suggest here could lead to a very productive discussion about standards of evidence. It seems to me that it would be perfectly within anyone's right to ask, "Please provide your standards of evidence." And it would be perfectly reasonable to say that you personally accept or decline a particular standard. In America and most of the free world, that's part of freedom of thought which is part of freedom of speech.

You may have to simply agree to disagree - and yet you could do so amicably.

Isn't there enough of this "gotcha" style discussion in the mainstream? Must scientist engage in it as well? I say no - and suggest that they can rise above that junk.

I hope they do, though my guess is they won't. The urge to slight other people is just too strong.

Regards,
Bal Simon