Re: Teaching science on the edge of knowledge

[Douglas Reed <dreed@SMTPGTWY.AUSD.K12.CA.US>]

> > > John Clement <clement@HAL-PC.ORG> wrote >>>
> Many of them take an absolutist view of science
> because they have been taught it the way you might
> teach revealed theological truth.  Part of our job
> is to help them understand NOS.

I couldn't agree more. We should be teaching students about the limits of science also. Since science describes physical phenomena, there are certain questions that are not answerable with science - unscientific questions, if you will - because they deal with non-physical phenomena. (examples include aesthetics, better described by philosophy; angels, better described by religion; etc.)

> > > "Pamela L. Gay" <pgay@FAS.HARVARD.EDU> wrote >>>
> *How do you answer the question: "What was there
> before the Big Bang?" I typically say, "Here be
> dragons" and use magazine articles and popular
> books to discuss some of the theories.

This question is actually a bad question, for a different reason than the general topic above. At the Big Bang was the commencement of time, as well as all other parts of the universe. Since "before" is a time relationship, it cannot be applied beyond the limit of time. A rather limited analogy would be a student asking what number comes after infinity on a number line. There is no answer because of the question itself.