1 2 3
#1464258
gravematter
Gravity is a fact. But there is also a theory regarding it. Whatever the terminology, the fact is that gravity, just like evolution and any other scientific "theory", is as near to being a fact as is possible in science. (We really need to come up with a better word for "theory", in the scientific sense. I guarantee that a large proportion of evolution-deniers would at least question the wisdom of their anti-science dogma.)
11/1/2012 9:23:06 AM
#1464273
Ebon
I just... Where to even start?
11/1/2012 10:20:32 AM
#1464278
shykid
This is already turning out to be a banner month for FSTDT.
11/1/2012 10:33:45 AM
#1464279
JohnTheAtheist
Theory = More than a fact. It is a generalization of fact. It is a fact that apples will fall from trees. The theory of gravity explains why while at the same time explaining why the earth and sun are in orbit around one another.
Also, you are really fucking stupid. Does it hurt?
11/1/2012 10:39:42 AM
#1464282
Doubting Thomas
Gravity elves FTW!
11/1/2012 11:29:53 AM
#1464288
dp
so that's why all their bumper stickers say, "only god".
11/1/2012 11:49:07 AM
#1464292
Zagen30
@gravematter: Richard Dawkins tried to jump-start the word "theorum" to replace "scientific theory," but it hasn't caught on.
11/1/2012 11:54:46 AM
#1464294
myheadhurts
someone swallowed both pills
11/1/2012 11:59:10 AM
#1464300
JGC
So who or what is imposing an ilusory higher power which appears to be imposing the whole way the world works, atoms, etc.?
You're taking the first steps on a path that must ultimately reduce to "It's just more turtles all the way down." If your experience of reality reflects an imposed but false impression, so too must your experience of a putative higher power.
11/1/2012 12:21:32 PM
#1464303
Mr. Bigglesworth
After reading the first two posts of the month, I predict gales of potentially rib breaking laughter for the rest of November.
11/1/2012 12:23:17 PM
#1464309
Godlespanther
Mystic, If you want to continue this discussion, perhaps you ought to contact people who operate on the same level. Give Beavis and Butthead a call.
11/1/2012 12:43:44 PM
#1464310
Iczer-four
here let me push you off a cliff and lets see if gravity is real or not.
11/1/2012 12:54:22 PM
#1464313
Pule Thamex
Apparently gravity is a fact in some places, and in some places it's not, it all depends upon the local sky fairy I think.
11/1/2012 1:11:05 PM
#1464322
= POPE =
"There is no gravity. The Earth sucks."
There is no gravity, the earth sucks! .... is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia License.
Fucking Disney will own it eventually. It was graffiti before the Internet went public.
Speaking of... When do you think Disney will buy MLP from Hasbro... or did I miss a memo again?
11/1/2012 1:54:50 PM
#1464331
Old Viking
A higher power? Do you mean the IRS?
11/1/2012 2:29:01 PM
#1464337
Sgt
Oh for... The question of if reality exists was settled the moment Descartes wrote 'Cogito ergo sum' in 1644; showing that the only thing it is possible to be unequivocaly certain of is that you exist.
11/1/2012 3:00:08 PM
#1464338
Jordab the Folf
Oh lord. Not even eighteen hours into this day here and this month has two of the zaniest quotes I've ever seen. Maybe they're just high from yesterday's sugar rush, or somethin'.
11/1/2012 3:07:28 PM
#1464341
John_in_Oz
Equally, for all you know, gravity is enforced as a practical joke by a troop of super-intelligent chimpanzees.
Fortunately, other people know more than you.
Why would gravity's being a fact differ in any way from all the other true facts that don't enable you to argue that a physical world exists? The answer is that it doesn't, and your suspicions are unfounded. Just like your religious beliefs.
11/1/2012 3:27:25 PM
#1464343
SouthernKing
Oh look, fundies just discovered postmodernism!
...
FAIL.
Let's look at this shall we?
"Gravity is a theory. For all I know, there is no force between objects. It's all enforced by a Creator for example. For all I know, material objects don't exist, and only souls exists, and there is a designer giving rise to our experience of the material world. "
First off, yes gravity is a theory. That's about the only thing you got right there. If there was no force between objects, then first off you wouldnt exist because all the subatomic particles making up the other subatomic particles that make up the atoms that make up the molecules that make up <skip a few> the organs that make up your body would not stick together, and you wouldn't be here typing.
How could souls interact without a body anyway?
"The whole way the world works, atoms, etc, perhaps none of the laws are intrinsic to existence. They simply are being imposed by a higher power. "
The laws ARE intrinsic to existence. If they didnt exist you wouldn't be typing that. And what higher power would have the patience to create the absolute fucked up world we live in?
"If gravity was a fact, I would suspect the philosophical argument of whether we know a physical world exists would be debunked."
Non sequitur.
11/1/2012 3:48:26 PM
#1464356
farpadokly
Whether you decide that it's a physical law, or something ordained by God, the fact is that the effects of gravity can be observed repeatedly, and they don't vary.
The important point to focus on is that we can eliminate all unnecessary components of our hypothesis to explain the observed effects, and the hypothesis still works. One of the unnecessary components that we can eliminate is the idea that a deity is causing the observable effects (attraction between bodies). It's a good basic principle that hypotheses should be parsimonious (Occam's Razor).
If our hypothesis has maximum explanatory power and minimum superfluous conjectures, then it might ascend to the level of theory. But it all needs to be backed up by what's observed.
11/1/2012 5:17:04 PM
#1464360
Hoplite
"The whole way the world works, atoms, etc, perhaps none of the laws are intrinsic to existence. They simply are being imposed by a higher power."
Oh great. We go to all the trouble to understand quantum mechanics, and some jack in the box pops up and attributes all of it to a god. Yay. What a cop-out.
As for gravity, it is both a fact and theory. A fact in that we can see its effects in the macroscopic world, and can identify its causes. But a theory in that it has not been fully explained as of yet at quantum levels. And some jackwagon pops up and attributes all of it to a god. Yay. What a cop-out.
Please, please, please be a good Poe. A troll, even.
11/1/2012 5:47:06 PM
#1464367
Thirddrop
So close, and yet so far.
11/1/2012 7:22:32 PM
#1464368
Thirddrop
Sorry don't know why I'm double posting.
11/1/2012 7:23:24 PM
#1464379
Petroleum Jerry
That's the beauty of it: gravity doesn't require your belief.
11/1/2012 10:55:12 PM
#1464386
Since there is no way to distinct between gravity or a force "enforced by a Creator", no one sane gives a fuck.
11/1/2012 11:12:11 PM
1 2 3