Re: Debunking pseudoscience: Why horoscopes really work

From: Chris Taylor (Christopher.Taylor@man.ac.uk)
Date: Mon Nov 19 2001 - 12:16:33 GMT

  • Next message: Chris Taylor: "Re: Debunking pseudoscience: Why horoscopes really work" 

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Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 12:16:33 +0000
From: Chris Taylor <Christopher.Taylor@man.ac.uk>
Organization: University of Manchester
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Subject: Re: Debunking pseudoscience: Why horoscopes really work
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    > Complexity in no way contradicts determinism. Even fractals are made from
    > simple, deterministic equations. What tips over the apple cart is
    > novelty.
    >
    > As Bergson argued a century ago, the meaning of time is that the universe
    > is NOT determined. It hasn't all happened yet. To assert determinism
    > is to
    > deny time. Indeed, that's exactly what physics does, not just since
    > Einstein,
    > but all the way to back to Descartes. Positivistic science has always
    > reduced existence to a graph, with time as its fourth variable.

    And the problem is..? Why can't time just be the long axis of the
    'prism' of the other three dimensions (*that* was clear). I don't
    understand why there is this need to cling to a universe with novelty.
    The detective book already has an ending when you start reading it, but
      the fact that the ending isn't made up on the spot as you turn the
    last page doesn't spoil it.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Chris Taylor (chris@bioinf.man.ac.uk)
      http://bioinf.man.ac.uk/ »people»chris
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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