more on this theme     |     more from this thinker

Single Idea 17405

[filed under theme 14. Science / A. Basis of Science / 4. Prediction ]

Full Idea

A theorist may have designed his theory to fit the facts, but is it not equally possible for observers to be influenced by a theory in their report of experimental facts?

Gist of Idea

If a theory can be fudged, so can observations

Source

Eric R. Scerri (The Periodic Table [2007], 05 'Power')

Book Ref

Scerri,Eric R.: 'The Periodic Table' [OUP 2007], p.150

A Reaction

This is in reply to Lipton's claim that prediction is better than accommodation because of the 'fudging' problem. The reply is that you might fudge to achieve a prediction. If it was correct, that wouldn't avoid the charge of fudging.

Related Idea

Idea 16857 Predictions are best for finding explanations, because mere accommodations can be fudged [Lipton]

The 28 ideas from 'The Periodic Table'

17392 How can poisonous elements survive in the nutritious compound they compose? [Scerri]
17393 Scientists eventually seek underlying explanations for every pattern [Scerri]
17394 Natural kinds are what are differentiated by nature, and not just by us [Scerri]
17391 Periodicity and bonding are the two big ideas in chemistry [Scerri]
17395 Elements were ordered by equivalent weight; later by atomic weight; finally by atomic number [Scerri]
17396 The colour of gold is best explained by relativistic effects due to fast-moving inner-shell electrons [Scerri]
17397 The periodic system is the big counterexample to Kuhn's theory of revolutionary science [Scerri]
17398 19th C views said elements survived abstractly in compounds, but also as 'material ingredients' [Scerri]
17403 The periodic table suggests accommodation to facts rates above prediction [Scerri]
17404 Chemistry does not work from general principles, but by careful induction from large amounts of data [Scerri]
17405 If a theory can be fudged, so can observations [Scerri]
17410 Moseley showed the elements progress in units, and thereby clearly identified the gaps [Scerri]
17407 The electron is the main source of chemical properties [Scerri]
17406 Moseley, using X-rays, showed that atomic number ordered better than atomic weight [Scerri]
17408 Some suggested basing the new periodic table on isotopes, not elements [Scerri]
17411 If all elements are multiples of one (of hydrogen), that suggests once again that matter is unified [Scerri]
17409 Does radioactivity show that only physics can explain chemistry? [Scerri]
17412 Elements are placed in the table by the number of positive charges - the atomic number [Scerri]
17414 Pauli explained the electron shells, but not the lengths of the periods in the table [Scerri]
17413 Elements in the table are grouped by having the same number of outer-shell electrons [Scerri]
17416 Orthodoxy says the periodic table is explained by quantum mechanics [Scerri]
17415 A big chemistry idea is that covalent bonds are shared electrons, not transfer of electrons [Scerri]
17417 To explain the table, quantum mechanics still needs to explain order of shell filling [Scerri]
17419 Since 99.96% of the universe is hydrogen and helium, the periodic table hardly matters [Scerri]
17422 The best classification needs the deepest and most general principles of the atoms [Scerri]
17421 If elements are natural kinds, might the groups of the periodic table also be natural kinds? [Scerri]
17418 It is now thought that all the elements have literally evolved from hydrogen [Scerri]
17420 The stability of nuclei can be estimated through their binding energy [Scerri]