Something that James Burke says in his original Connections series may have
some relevance.
To paraphrase (as closely as I can remember):
"At best, the products of human emotion--art, literature, philosophy, music,
etc.--tell us more about the person producing them than about the world they
are talking about. They are second-hand views of the world, made third-hand
by our own interpretations. Science, on the other hand, shows us only that
which is demonstratably true."
We would of course strike the 'true' part, but the demonstatably (or
reproducible) part remains. This statement may be part of the 'perception'
of the power of science.
Rick
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Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
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Free Physics Educational Software (Win & Mac)
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/software.html
Energy 2100--class project
www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/ENERGY_PROJECT/ENERGY2100.htm
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