From: Scott Chase (osteopilus@yahoo.com)
Date: Sat 15 Oct 2005 - 13:10:55 GMT
--- Robin Faichney <robin@mmmi.org> wrote:
> Friday, October 14, 2005, 11:32:12 PM, Ted wrote:
>
> >> "Action at a distance" is a profoundly
> unscientific concept.
> >> Like "intelligent design" it's an attempt to
> dignify ignorance and
> >> make it permanent. Can't see how a particular
> cellular mechanism could
> >> have evolved? Then it obviously must have been
> designed! Can't find a
> >> link in a supposed causal chain? Well, it must be
> action at a
> >> distance!
>
> > Nice try. Would you claim that field theory is
> profoundly unscientific?
> > Where there is field, there is action at a
> distance, be it gravitational,
> > electromagnetic, or quantum.
>
> Not at all. The whole point of field theory is that
> it accounts
> for what APPEARS to be action at a distance. What
> mediates the force
> is the field. We might not wholly understand it, but
> it is detectable
> and (allowing for the inherent difficulties of
> operating at the
> quantum level) measurable, unlike the influences you
> propose. What's
> unscientific is a supposed causal chain that lacks a
> link. The field
> is the link in electromagnetics etc. What's your
> link?
>
> > Of the various fields, the quantum field has
> > the greatest resonance with life, for quantum
> fields are probabilistic.
>
> Quantum fields resonate with life because both are
> probabilistic. I
> guess this typifies your thinking.
>
>
The fields postulated in developmental biology are
quite a bit more down to earth than all this quantum
stuff. Pretty much a conceptual tool that allows a way
to look at how gene products come into play within
given embryonic regions. No paranormal events allowed!
Rather mundane if you ask me.
__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
http://mail.yahoo.com
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat 15 Oct 2005 - 13:28:02 GMT