On Tuesday, February 11, 2014 12:33:44 PM UTC, Martin Brown wrote:
On 11/02/2014 11:18, Joe Egginton wrote:

On 11/02/2014 11:02, matt_sykes wrote:

On Sunday, 9 February 2014 22:04:49 UTC+1, Dawlish wrote:



There will never be proof. That's because this is science. Something

the rest of your rant shows you simply don't understand.



ROFL, so what you're saying Dullish is that science is based on faith.

Science is all about evidence and proof.



What he is saying is that *proof* is only possible in mathematics. You

cannot prove a scientific hypothesis in the strict sense of the word.



In science you can easily disprove a hypothesis or theory by finding an

experiment where the experimental results disagree with the predictions

of the theory. It doesn't matter how many experiments you do that have

theory and experimental results matching you never prove it. There is

always the possibility that someone will find a clever experiment that

breaks the standard models of the day in a novel and unexpected way.



Usually such novel experiments that overthrow the scientific status quo

are ground breaking and paradigm shifting like Becquerel discovering

radioactivity, the Michelson-Moreley experiment (relativity), Hertz with

the photoelectric effect (quantum mechanics) and Penzias & Wilson

observing the microwave background (Big Bang).



You can demonstrate that the likelihood that a scientific theory is

correct increases with every independent and more sensitive test that

the theoretical model passes but it is never absolute proof.



There is no absolute proof in science only a progressively better and

better approximation to reality. We codify things that we believe are so

nearly true as to make no difference as the laws of physics but they are

always subject to later revision when better data comes along. Hard

experimental results always trump theory when they conflict.



By comparison dittohead right whingers are absolutely convinced and cock

sure that we can trash the planet with impunity for fun and profit.



You can't attribute any one weather event to AGW but on the other hand

when you have had a run of "hundred year" storms in quick succession you

have to wonder how many more it will take before the lying dittoheads

finally admit defeat. Nature is the final arbiter on this!



Still with the Tory heartlands now flooding they will have to pay some

attention to mitigating climate change instead of pretending that it

isn't happening. "Vote blue get green" slogan is looking very dodgy now.



--

Regards,

Martin Brown

The number of times these people are told this and the number of times they simply fail to learn and trot out the same crap again at some other time.

There will never be absolute proof in science. Now learn that, deniers and don't ask for it again.