Print 38 comment(s) - last by Fritzr.. on Jan 15 at 5:52 PM

One piece closer to a working electronic quantum computer puzzle kit.






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By GourdFreeMan on 1/13/2010 3:32:51 PM , Rating: 2

False premises lead to false conclusions.

You would be surprised how enduring erroneous beliefs are when they are essentially philosophical rather than matters of scientific practicality.

By foolsgambit11 on 1/14/2010 12:05:46 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, that is always a possibility, I suppose. And it can't be ruled out any more than an omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient god can be. The point, though, is that from a scientific standpoint, the theory that has the most predictive power given our current level of knowledge is the one I described above. To conflate a predictive theory with a philosophical argument simply muddies the issue.

I would love for quantum mechanics to suddenly become clear and somewhat-more-sensible, like our understanding of electromagnetism did, progressing from philosophical constructs about the aether, with all of its relatively arbitrary properties, to the elegant (if slightly mind-bending) theory of special relativity. But the theoretical construct (the 'why', so to speak) isn't really the point. The math is; the facts are. Special relativity doesn't explain the 'why' either. It does explain and predict the who, what, when, and where, though. That is the point of science. Scientific theories must have predictive power. Quantum mechanics has it, while superdeterminism is useless - it's just throwing our hands up in the air.

By SlyNine on 1/14/2010 5:23:32 AM , Rating: 2
We are not talking about beliefs, we are talking about theories that can be tested and potentially disproved.

So far the tests show the theories to be accurate, so if you are attacking the theory then you're the one that needs to consider using valid premises and offering a conclusion.

