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The Barefoot Bum wrote:Not a

Submitted by kellym78 on April 5, 2008 - 2:50pm.

The Barefoot Bum wrote:
Not a bad article overall. I didn't read future toddler chopper Vox Day's original article, and I'm sure the guy defending him is an idiot, but I do have to quibble with some of your statements.

No, correlation does not imply causation, and a hypothesis should be generated before any experimentation is undertaken. The hypothesis comes from pure observation, and is then proven or not by experimentation.

This is not quite accurate. First, the commenter seems to mean "implies" in the sense of "suggests", which is reasonably accurate. Furthermore, hypotheses are generated all the time, in response to observation, experiment, intuition, or just plain guesswork.

I see what you're saying, and I'm not saying that it is impossible to develop a hypothesis from an experiment, but technically, the scientific method starts with hypothesis, and that is tested by experimentation. Also, the correlation/causation thing isn't quite the case as many different correlates are in no way related to the cause of x phenomenon. Therefore, one cannot broadly state that correlation implies causation at all.

Quote:
these things are only observed within the natural world and the supernatural is a priori excluded.

It's more accurate, I think, to state that the word "supernatural" is incoherent and meaningless. It's just a fancy word for ignorance.

True, but in relation to science, the supernatural cannot be tested and isn't involved by definition.

"Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions." -Thomas Jefferson
"By not caring too much about what people think, I'm able to think for myself and propagate ideas which are very often unpopular. And I succeed." -Albert Ellis

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