19 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Evolving Methods of Science
A closer look at the course followed by developing theory reveals for a start that it is by no means as continuous as one might expect, but full of breaks and at least apparently not along the shortest logical path. Certain methods often afforded the most handsome results only the other day, and many might well have thought that the development of science to infinity would consist in no more than their constant application. Instead, on the contrary, they suddenly reveal themselves as exhauste... 1 
notes
notesScience does not progress smoothly through the constant application of a single method, but the methods change and there is conflict between generations.
01 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
We Need Experimental Societies
Our instincts and emotions are those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors of a
million years ago. But our society is astonishingly different from that of a million
years ago. In times of slow change, the insights and skills learned by one generation
are useful, tried, and adaptive, and are gladly received when passed down to the
next generation. But in times like today, when the society changes significantly in
less than a human lifetime, the parental insights no longer have unquestioned
validity... 1 notes
notesSociology is too complex to accurately predict how we should manage our society; we need to conduct experiments in order to determine the best path forward. In America, the States could serve as such laboratories.
10 AUG 2011 by ideonexus
How the Church Cuts
“But they were cutting-” Lyra couldn’t bring herself to say it; the words choked in her mouth. “You know what they were doing! Why did the Church let them do anything like that?”
“There was a precedent. Something like it had happened before. Do you know what the word castration means? It means removing the sexual organs of a boy so that he never develops the characteristics of a man. A castrate keeps his high treble voice all his life, which is why the Church allowed it: so usefu... 1 notes
notesIn the fictional universe, the Church cuts children from their souls, but in our own history they have castrated boys to preserve their ability to sing in the choir.
