[From Shannon Willyams (951103)]
Hans Blom, 951102--
And he could use S-R to predict the behavior of 1001 hungry, caged
cats, or hungry other animals. But what else can he predict with it?Is that a complaint? Every theory has its limited domain of applic-
ability. That is a fact that we seem to have to live with.
Is the use of S-R theory limited to the domain of hungry, caged animals?
What is worse is: a hypothesis that does not have a causal mechanism
is not subject to error. It is infallible.Are you sure?
Yes.
A causal mechanism requires you to think in terms of:
A => B => C
Where:
A = initial state
B = intermediate state
C = final state
Without a causal mechanism, you only visualize what you observe:
A => C
Since you do not visualize a path by which 'A' becomes 'C', there is
nothing to prove you wrong. There is no means by which you can test your
hypothesis against reality.
How about quantum mechanics with its predictions that
are accurate to 1 part in 10^9 or better? What is the _cause_ that
everything is quantized?
I do not know what is the cause that everything is quantized. Why do you
ask?
-Shannon