Replicability implies continuity

The scientific method ensures that the system of building knowledge respects what has been built already; what continues to prove existing theory is retained, what breaks it is further investigated.

The further investigation aspect has to do with replicability. A scientific experiment should be able to be tested repeatedly, otherwise it is merely a one-off activity that cannot do much to established knowledge.

But replicability is often taken for granted. Our experiments assume that our version of time is continuous, ever-lasting and indefinite.

Can we help it?

Even under the assumption that time is continuous, things change over time. Value increases or decreases based on prevailing circumstances.

Does this change affect any part of the scientific method?

There is a clause in proofs - "ceteris paribus" or "all other things being equal" - that is a slight fix for the assumption that time will not change value. But this clause is also the extra, unexciting part of proofs.

Why, then, are we convinced that tomorrow will come and we can continue as we have done today?

Comments

Tanzania is not Tasmania

Dear friends: Please let's stop refering to Tanzania as Tasmania. Here is why. Tanzania is located on the coast of East Africa, below Kenya. It is not origin of the the cartoon character from your childhood. Tasmania is an island which is part of Australia. The animal known to exist only on Tasmania is the Tasmanian Devil. Once again, you will see this is not the cartoon character you remember from your childhood. Let's summarize: Tanzania is not Tasmania.

Policy Brief 2: Why is Tanzania Poor?

(Policy Brief # 2 Submitted December 6th 2007, for Econ 346 - Economic Development, Lafayette College) Over the course of the 20th century, Tanzania experienced a multitude of social, political and economic changes. It still remains poor today. The WorldBank classifies a ‘low income country’ – such as Tanzania – as one with a Gross National Income per capita of $905 or less (WorldBank Data 2006). As of 1992, Tanzania ’s per capita income was recorded at $110, and average per capita consumption was $0.5 per day (OECD 2000). Several possible factors have been blamed for contributing to current hardships, such as Julius Nyerere’s failed attempts to collectivize agriculture between 1961 and 1975 through his socialist Ujamaa policies as the first president of Tanzania (Pratt 1980). While pre-independence plans “focused on the commercialization of agriculture and the creation of industries that could reduce the need for a variety of imports”, post-independence interventions by the Gov

Thoughts caught up

Well hello friends, It's been a while since I wrote a post. I say this all the time, I am aware. But this time is a little special. Let's begin with a sample >> Edx - Casa Grande Now, there are times when we don't really know what we think we know. That is, physically, in this material world, we find things that happen to occur in our lifetimes, or within the realm of things we know during our lifetimes, that make it seem as though we can prove what we know. This is a completely understandable way of proving things. However, every so often, a human feels a vibe; of appreciation, of pluralism, of kinmanship, of care, of love, or of annoyance, of irriation, of anger, whatever it may be, we feel it. This exact vibe, of whatever emotion it holds, is not a physical vibe. I think this vibe has more than history, is more than a science, and is greater than our reality. This vibe, I believe, is purely human. Time for another sample >> Julian Vincent feat. Cathy Burton -

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