Falsifiability; necessary (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, June 18, 2015, 15:01 (3236 days ago) @ dhw

Another discussion of he need for experimental proof of theory (falsifiability:-http://www.worldmag.com/2015/06/are_scientists_ready_to_embrace_theories_devoid_of_evidence-"In the ashes of disappointment, “the specter of evidence-independent science” arose, according to Gleiser and Frank. They note that while some scientists are prepared to forfeit their pet theory in light of a lack of evidence, others are not. Many will just double down on supersymmetry, conjecturing that we don't have the technology yet to discover the new particles. -“'Implicit in such a maneuver is a philosophical question: How are we to determine whether a theory is true if it cannot be validated experimentally?” Gleiser and Frank ask.-"Similar tendencies are at work in the highly fashionable multiverse theory, which posits that our universe is actually just one of many universes (perhaps even an infinite number). Gleiser and Frank admit multiverse theory, “could help solve some deep scientific conundrums about our own universe (such as the so-called fine-tuning problem) but at considerable cost: namely, the additional universes of the multiverse would lie beyond our powers of observation and could never be directly investigated.'”