Altar of Stone
Dark matter, human consciousness, the human brain, global warming, religion, evolution and creationism. What do these topics have in common? All have a prescribed set of current theories or beliefs. All are derived from insufficient data - they are incomplete. Many are lacking any empirical data at all while some are just widely held beliefs, myths and superstitions.
We have been told ad nauseum that these topics are "theories" or "laws" or "truths". These assertations have become memes and are now unquestioned. They are also inaccurate. A few definitions are in order to clarify the scientific terminology.
Idea - any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
Concept - an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.
Belief - confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof
Scientific Theory - a coherent explanation for a large number of facts and observations about the natural world. A theory is Internally consistent and compatible with the evidence, firmly grounded in and based upon evidence, tested against a wide range of phenomena, and demonstrably effective in problem-solving
Scientific Hypothesis - an idea or proposition that can be tested by observations or experiments, about the natural world. In order to be considered scientific, hypotheses are subject to scientific evaluation and must be falsifiable, which means that they are worded in such a way that they can be proven to be incorrect.
Scientific Law - a description of a natural phenomenon or principle that invariably holds true under specific conditions and will occur under certain circumstances.
Some of the afformentioned "theories" are more complete than others, while some are non-scientific in nature, the end result in the media is the same - exaggerated claims as to the validity of the "theories". The media continually spouts headline after headline claiming some miraculous scientific "discovery" has been "verified" thus "proving" Theory A to be "correct". Many of these claims are derived from a "house-of-cards" mindset in which the deductions derived from the new data come from other equally precarious deductions - one stacked on top of the other requiring only a modest breeze of truth to topple them. Sometimes the new "discoveries" are derived from flimsy, even shoddy, experimental data that has little, if any, relation to the topic at hand. Some "discoveries" are biased by the scientists or the scientific publishers themselves, whether it be for capitalistic, political, or theological reasons. Whatever the reason, a lot of misleading (if not totally false) information is being spoon fed to the masses (read "to me and you"), while at the same time other, more legitimate "discoveries" are overlooked or ignored out of fear or ignorance.
Equally disturbing are religious claims. I find it difficult to accept any current prescribed doctrine religious dogma although I consider myself a spiritual person. I have my own beliefs on the afterlife and a supreme being. Books written thousands of years ago, by men more intellectually primitive than now, hold no sway over my current thinking.
To that point, many mathematical and scientific books were also written over the centuries. Most, if not all have been updated, ammended, or replaced with better, more accurate information and ideas as our collective knowledge grows. It seems a bit presumptuous and arrogant to think that ancient man got religion 100% correct the very first time it was conceived. Sadly, I do not have that much faith in my ancestors or their beliefs.
Hence the creation of Altar of Stone - A forum to openly discuss new ideas and current scientific, religious, philosophical theories and claims. Hopefully without the venom from people who are either too afraid or are just unable to think beyond themselves.
We have been told ad nauseum that these topics are "theories" or "laws" or "truths". These assertations have become memes and are now unquestioned. They are also inaccurate. A few definitions are in order to clarify the scientific terminology.
Idea - any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
Concept - an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.
Belief - confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof
Scientific Theory - a coherent explanation for a large number of facts and observations about the natural world. A theory is Internally consistent and compatible with the evidence, firmly grounded in and based upon evidence, tested against a wide range of phenomena, and demonstrably effective in problem-solving
Scientific Hypothesis - an idea or proposition that can be tested by observations or experiments, about the natural world. In order to be considered scientific, hypotheses are subject to scientific evaluation and must be falsifiable, which means that they are worded in such a way that they can be proven to be incorrect.
Scientific Law - a description of a natural phenomenon or principle that invariably holds true under specific conditions and will occur under certain circumstances.
Some of the afformentioned "theories" are more complete than others, while some are non-scientific in nature, the end result in the media is the same - exaggerated claims as to the validity of the "theories". The media continually spouts headline after headline claiming some miraculous scientific "discovery" has been "verified" thus "proving" Theory A to be "correct". Many of these claims are derived from a "house-of-cards" mindset in which the deductions derived from the new data come from other equally precarious deductions - one stacked on top of the other requiring only a modest breeze of truth to topple them. Sometimes the new "discoveries" are derived from flimsy, even shoddy, experimental data that has little, if any, relation to the topic at hand. Some "discoveries" are biased by the scientists or the scientific publishers themselves, whether it be for capitalistic, political, or theological reasons. Whatever the reason, a lot of misleading (if not totally false) information is being spoon fed to the masses (read "to me and you"), while at the same time other, more legitimate "discoveries" are overlooked or ignored out of fear or ignorance.
Equally disturbing are religious claims. I find it difficult to accept any current prescribed doctrine religious dogma although I consider myself a spiritual person. I have my own beliefs on the afterlife and a supreme being. Books written thousands of years ago, by men more intellectually primitive than now, hold no sway over my current thinking.
To that point, many mathematical and scientific books were also written over the centuries. Most, if not all have been updated, ammended, or replaced with better, more accurate information and ideas as our collective knowledge grows. It seems a bit presumptuous and arrogant to think that ancient man got religion 100% correct the very first time it was conceived. Sadly, I do not have that much faith in my ancestors or their beliefs.
Hence the creation of Altar of Stone - A forum to openly discuss new ideas and current scientific, religious, philosophical theories and claims. Hopefully without the venom from people who are either too afraid or are just unable to think beyond themselves.
