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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: What is the largest possible rest mass of the photon?
« on: 07/11/2015 00:55:26 »
Science is the recursive application of the algorithm "observe, hypothesise, test". Philosophy is something else. It usually involves an incomplete observation, a wholly irrelevant hypothesis, and an excuse to do something bizarre or evil. Testing and recursive refinement are beneath the lofty intellect of a philosopher, which is why they tend to flock with those other arrogant purveyors of ignornace, priests and politicians. If you allow philosophy to infect science, you end up with such perversions as Nazi science, Lysenkoism, Maoism, ruin and starvation. Evolution is a scientific observation, creationism is a philosophy. There is no scientific justification for beheading infidels, but a powerful philosophy can sanctify it.
The overweening arrogance of philosophers is apparent from Evan's posting. As is the fatuous nature of philosophy
The overweening arrogance of philosophers is apparent from Evan's posting. As is the fatuous nature of philosophy
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Photon, Elementary particle, Particle physics, Physics, Natural science, Science, Knowledge, Awareness, Consciousness, Quality (philosophy), Philosophy.It all makes sense until you get to "consciousness", a term which is never defined by its users: everything thereafter appears to derive its place in the thread, from a meaningless word. Philosophically, a photon must be a wave or a particle, so the properties of electromagnetic radiation depend on some notion of duality and observer-dependence...what utter rubbish! We scientists use the term photon to denote the cause of a number of linked phenomena: it doesn't "have to be" anything other than itself, and we admit that we don't have a unique mathematical description of all its properties. That is a far more mature, and far less arrogant and athropocentric way of looking at the universe.
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