> Suppose the device is a machine. It initially looks like it responds by beeping when illuminated. However, we falsify this theory by finding different pattern

> Suppose the device is a machine. It initially looks like it responds by beeping when illuminated. However, we falsify this theory by finding different patterns of light and dark, some of which cause the machine to beep and others that don't, falsifying that theory. But that's not a theory, it's an observation, and it cannot be falsified, only contradicted. We observe the machine's outputs without any deep understanding of the reasons for the behavior or a grasp of why it's acting as it is. Therefore when we draw a conclusion about a repetitive pattern, and make an assertion about the pattern, we could easily be contradicted by another observer seeing a different pattern and drawing a different conclusion. Those are contradictions, not falsifications. Say we're an alien, visiting earth, and we see cars moving along a road. By observation we conclude that the cars have to stay in line, no one can force their way through all the other cars. It's a "theory". Then a fire truck appears and does exactly what we asserted could not happen -- it makes all the other cars move out of the way. But our "theory" is not falsified, it's contradicted. A falsification would require (a) a deep understanding of why cars behave the way they do, and (b) a theoretical falsification based on that deep understanding, not simply a new observation that contradicts an old one. Another example. For a while there was a mental illness called "Asperger Syndrome". It came into being in meetings of psychologists who talked about it, and who eventually voted it into the DSM. Everybody liked this new mental illness, it became very popular. Some psychologists even claimed that a lot of famous people had it -- Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein and Bill Gates, to name just a few. This roster of famous "Aspies" made the mental illness even more popular, especially among young people. Then things got out of control, and people were actually proactively demanding the diagnosis, for themselves and/or their children. The fact that they could collect Social Security disability payments might have been a factor. Seeing the clamor about this disease and fearing the consequences of a public backlash, the psychologists held another vote and voted Asperger Syndrome out of the DSM (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03asperger.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03asperger.html). So, was Asperger Syndrome falsified? No, not at all. It wasn't falsified because it was never more than an observation -- it never had a theoretical basis. As a result, Asperger Syndrome is neither true nor is it false, and anyone can contradict anyone else while discussing it. By the way, the same thing was true about homosexuality about 30 years ago, with the same controversy and the same outcome -- it was a recognized, listed mental illness, then it wasn't. This is not science. And it won't be until we understand the brain. Understanding the mind is not only not helping, it's an obstacle, because people have come to think of the mind as a cause of behavior, when it's clearly an effect of the workings of the brain, and science can't be based on effects -- it must be based on causes.