From: Raleigh McLemore (raleighmclemore@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Nov 29 2004 - 17:33:54 PST
Message-ID: <20041130013354.30944.qmail@web54709.mail.yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 17:33:54 -0800 (PST) From: Raleigh McLemore <raleighmclemore@yahoo.com> Subject: Evolutionary Law?
I've been recovering from an illness lately, allowing me more time to think and pester friends. We were discussing hypothesis, theory and law, first as a "hierarchy", then, after agreeing that they really aren't a hierarchy, as just "our science word buddies". The only thing we agreed on completely is that all three of the science word buddies can be disproven.
Here's where I'm confused (well it's not the only place, but here is one of the places):
Newton made a "Law of Gravity" from his observations, that, while still being refined, seems true under all conditions we are able to observe so far. It is predictive.
Many scientists are trying to create a theory to describe what we know about gravity.Their theories are explainations of phenomena that Newton described in his law. Theories are predictive too.
No one agrees on any single theory of gravity, especially why it is so weak.
What is the role of hypothesis in development of a theory of gravity?
Is the role of theory in the subject of evolution profoundly different than Gravitational Theory (there is no "law" of evolution...right?).
So a law, such as the Law of Gravity, simply says that under certain condtions things will happen a certain way.
A Theory of Gravity says why the law works.
A Theory of Evolution attempts to explain how living things respond to their environment using many observations compiled over many years, but there is no "complete" set of explainations (an "Evolutionary Law") that can predict changes in living organisms useful as a Gravitational Law.
We cannot have a Evolutionary Law without being able to...do what? Would it predict future forms of an organism given certain conditions?
I have to admit that a great conversation is one that confuses me about things I am usually smug about.
With firm handshake,
Raleigh
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