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And then claims that all of science is just "looking at things" Well, at least he got one thing correct. Mostly. Science is a system for generating a model of
by npsimons 12y ago
And then claims that all of science is just "looking at things"
Well, at least he got one thing correct. Mostly. Science is a system for generating a model of the world. It just also happens to be the best one we have, insofar as it has generated the most accurate model of the universe to date. Is it perfect? No. Should it be criticized? Yes, otherwise it won't improve. Should we throw it out altogether? Perhaps that question should be put to the literally billions of people whose lives have been saved and improved by the results of science. Or not. Those same billions are probably very badly informed about science, which is what Adams should be railing against, not science itself.
- muaddirac 12y agoI agree with you say but I just want to emphasize how much that is NOT what Adams says in his book. In the book, he dismisses science because it's just looking at things and our eyes can deceive us (he uses the example of thinking the earth was flat). At the same time, he calls for expanding our "perception" of the world. But the many, many ways in which science/technology have legitimately expanded our perception of the universe are dismissed by him, because it's all "just looking at things." A readout of a signal from a radio telescope is just looking at things with our fallible eyes. A measurement of the voltage of a battery is just looking at a readout of a voltmeter. That is what is supremely frustrating with his view of science.