Re: [Phys-l] DATA, FACTS, LAWS, THEORIES

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

> However, given that the genesis of this discussion was evolution, one
> might like to choose definitions that apply in biology.  How do
> biologists use the term law?  A little googling reveals that although
> there is some disagreement about whether biology can have laws (see
> <http://www.springerlink.com/content/g0gj47u3q5716250/>), the term is
> used for generalizations that cannot be expressed in terms of variables
> (see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollo%27s_law>).
The first article is a debate over whether there are any laws in biology.
The second article explains Dollo's Law or Dollo's Principle which they also
call an hypothesis.  So in reality biology may not have any laws, or they
may be ambiguous about the term law.

By contrast I have never seen Hooke's law called a principle, and virtually
all textbooks call it a law.  In terms of what physicists call laws I would
say Dollo's principle.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX