[MD] A Tiny Hominid With No Place on the Family Tree

[MarshaV]

At 01:03 PM 4/29/2009, you wrote:
>Hi Marsha,
>
>
> > You mean humans weren't created when Kali spun her roulette wheel?   I'm
> > crushed!   But thanks for the many paragraphs.  It surprising that another
> > theory hasn't come along, very surprising.  It sounds like a suspiciously
> > static theory.  Ahhh, but they all once thought Newton's physics describe
> > true reality.  Would a many-worlds theory cause a little fuss?  Maybe there
> > are many un-natural versions of Marsha's existing elsewhere.
>
>
>The Newtonian era view of science was indeed that science uncovered
>"true reality." After Einstein, science is viewed differently.
>Darwinism, like all scientific theories, is taken as provisionally
>true. It is useful for making predictions and guiding inquiry by
>telling us what to look for and where to look, but it is always held
>with the perspective that this provisional truth may need to be
>revised as new evidence becomes available.
>
>I'v eposted this before, but I just love this from Einstein on science:
>
>"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not,
>however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world. In our
>endeavour to understand reality we are somewhat like a man trying to
>understand the mechanism of a closed watch. He sees the face and the
>moving hands, even hears it ticking, but he has no way of opening the
>case. If he is ingenious he may form some picture of the mechanism
>which could be responsible for all the things he observes, but he may
>never be quite sure his picture is the only one which could explain
>his observations. He will never be able to compare his picture with
>the real mechanism and he cannot even imagine the possibility of the
>meaning of such a comparison."
>
>Darwin's theory is also a free creation of the human mind that should
>be used as long as it is useful and for whatever purposes it is useful
>for. What no one has ever been able to say is what scientific purposes
>Intelligent Design could ever be useful for if it were thought to be
>true.

Here are two Einstein quotes I love:

"A human being is part of the whole, called by us 'Universe'; a part 
limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and 
feelings as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical 
delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for 
us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few 
persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this 
prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living 
creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to 
achieve this completely but striving for such achievement is, in 
itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."

and

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is 
the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a 
stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is 
as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

I bet Einstein would have been fun in a sandbox.


Marsha


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Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.........
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