Re: Non-conservative forces in a liquid dielectric

[Ludwik Kowalski <kowalskil@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

It was a good comment, Hugh. Conflicts between
experimental findings and theories are usually
resolved, sooner or later. Only then can scientists
say that things are really "under control."

On Monday, Jun 2, 2003, at 11:16 US/Eastern, Hugh Haskell wrote:

> At 10:46 -0400 6/2/03, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:
>
> > But, as I said before, I
> > would accept experimental evidence, no matter how
> > much it  disagrees with logical thinking.
>
> I would be wary of accepting experimental evidence that disagreed
> wildly with logical thinking. All evidence should be looked at
> skeptically, even evidence that agrees with the conventional wisdom.
> Experiments have been known to be wrong, even after many repetitions.
> But more often, experiments are looking at the edges of knowledge and
> are often digging deeper into the signal to noise ratio than previous
> experiments have. Sometimes the new results are right, but not always.
>
> It is always good policy to bear in mind the even-handed thought of
> Eddington:
>
> "Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together,
> both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good rule
> not to put overmuch confidence in a theory until it has been
> confirmed by observation.
> "I hope I shall not shock the experimental physicists too much if I
> add that it is also a good rule not to put overmuch confidence in the
> observational results that are put forward until they have been
> confirmed by theory."
>
> Hugh
> --
>
> Hugh Haskell
> <mailto:haskell@ncssm.edu>
> <mailto:hhaskell@mindspring.com>
>
> (919) 467-7610
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