15 JUN 2016 by ideonexus
How Science Resists the Philosophical Concept that Percep...
In the traditional theory, which still is the prevailing one, there were alleged to exist inherent defects in perception and observation as means of knowledge, in reference to the subjectmatter they furnish. This material, in the older notion, is inherently so particular, so contingent and variable, that by no possible means can it contribute to knowledge; it can result only in opinion, mere belief. But in modern science, there are only practical defects in the senses, certain limitations of ...Folksonomies: knowledge perception
Folksonomies: knowledge perception
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notes31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
The Point
Behold yon miserable creature. That Point is a Being like ourselves, but confined to the non-dimensional Gulf. He is himself his own World, his own Universe; of any other than himself he can form no conception; he knows not Length, nor Breadth, nor Height, for he has had no experience of them; he has no cognizance even of the number Two; nor has he a thought of Plurality, for he is himself his One and All, being really Nothing. Yet mark his perfect self-contentment, and hence learn this lesso...Folksonomies: perspective dimensions
Folksonomies: perspective dimensions
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notes21 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Conception of Time
We never really see time. We see only clocks. If you say this object moves, what you really mean is that this object is here when the hand of your clock is here, and so on. We say we measure time with clocks, but we see only the hands of the clocks, not time itself. And the hands of a clock are a physical variable like any other. So in a sense we cheat because what we really observe are physical variables as a function of other physical variables, but we represent that as if everything is evo...Folksonomies: time
Folksonomies: time
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notesWe do not see time, we only see its effects.
08 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Belief in Matter is Like Belief in God
As an empiricist I continue to think of the conceptual scheme of science as a tool, ultimately, for predicting future experience in the light of past experience. Physical objects are conceptually imported into the situation as convenient intermediaries-not by definition in terms of experience, but simply as irreducible posits comparable, epistemologically, to the gods of Homer. For my part I do, qua lay physicist, believe in physical objects and not in Homer's gods; and I consider it a scient...Folksonomies: empiricism
Folksonomies: empiricism
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notesExcept the belief in matter has proved much more reliable and useful.
31 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Questioning Reality is Futile
All possible truth is practical. To ask whether our conception of chair or table corresponds to the real chair or table apart from the uses to which they may be put, is as utterly meaningless and vain as to inquire whether a musical tone is red or yellow. No other conceivable relation than this between ideas and things can exist. The unknowable is what I cannot react upon. The active part of our nature is not only an essential part of cognition itself, but it always has a voice in determining...Folksonomies: empiricism reality
Folksonomies: empiricism reality
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notesIt's all we have to go on, so make the best of it.
31 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
God Explains Nothing
In consequence of Darwin's reformed Theory of Descent, we are now in a position to establish scientifically the groundwork of a non-miraculous history of the development of the human race... If any person feels the necessity of conceiving the coming into existence of this matter as the work of a supernatural creative power, of the creative force of something outside of matter, we have nothing to say against it. But we must remark, that thereby not even the smallest advantage is gained for a s... 1 notes
notesThere is nothing wrong with believing in God, but it serves no useful purpose.
07 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Losing the Human Perspective in the Vastness of the Cosmos
When I pause and reflect on our expanding universe, with its galaxies hurtling away from one another, embedded within the ever-stretching, four-dimensional fabric of space and time, sometimes I forget that uncounted people walk this Earth without food or shelter, and that children are disproportionately represented among them.
When I pore over the data that establish the mysterious presence of dark matter and dark energy throughout the universe, sometimes I forget that every day—every twe... 1 notes
notesTyson talks about how easy it is to forget human dilemmas when we consider the immense size of our Universe.
26 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Interest in Genetics of "Lesser" Animals Betrays our Conn...
Genetics has enticed a great many explorers during the past two decades. They have labored with fruit-flies and guinea-pigs, with sweet peas and corn, with thousands of animals and plants in fact, and they have made heredity no longer a mystery but an exact science to be ranked close behind physics and chemistry in definiteness of conception. One is inclined to believe, however, that the unique magnetic attraction of genetics lies in the vision of potential good which it holds for mankind rat... 1 notes
notesIf we were not related to them, then there would be little scientific interest in exploring them.
01 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Emergence Through Emergencies
Very frequently I hear or read of my artifacts adjudged by critics as
being "failures," because I did not get them into mass-production and
"make money with them." Such money-making-as-criteria-of-success critics
do not realize that money-making was never my goal. I learned very early
and painfully that you have to decide at the outset whether you are
trying to make money or to make sense, as they are mutually exclusive. I
saw that nature has various categories of unique gestation lags betwee...Folksonomies: environmentalism innovation
Folksonomies: environmentalism innovation
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notesBuckminster Fuller explains that many of his ideas haven't caught on, not because they aren't profitable, but because our lack of foresight hasn't yet created a sufficient emergency situation to prompt their adoption.
01 JAN 2010 by ideonexus
Cybernetics Extending Human Perception
And man's relationship to his environment has changed. As a result of cybernetic efficiency, he finds himself becoming more and more predominantly a Controller and less and Effecter. The machine, largely self-regulating and highly adaptive, stands between man and his world. It extends his perception in furthest space and deep into the finest particles of matter; physical labour is replaced by accurate, tireless automata; in many situations teh machine can gather required information, store, p...Folksonomies: new media
Folksonomies: new media
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notesThis passage appears under a sub-section titled "Science and a Discipline for Art", where the author is arguing for artists to pay attention to progress being made in science for inspirations to enhance their artistic endeavors.
