Re: [Phys-l] The "why" questions

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 11/29/2010 10:07 AM, Bob Sciamanda wrote:

> The assignment of "cause" and "effect" is a philosophical, and not a 
> physics, concept.  

I disagree.

> It is neither operationally definable nor conclusively 
> testable.  

I disagree.

Questions of cause-and-effect are of the utmost practical importance.
The Mayo Clinic / Love Canal parable should suffice to prove the point.
This is discussed at the very beginning of
  http://www.av8n.com/physics/causation.htm

That's why this discussion is worth having.  It is a tremendous disservice
to the students -- and to the society as a whole -- to teach misconceptions
about cause-and-effect.

How can we even begin to have a fact-based discussion of whether humans
are causing climate change if people have no clue what "causing" means?

Multi-trillion-dollar decisions hinge on our understanding of what is 
causal and what is not causal.   Life-and-death decisions hinge on our 
understanding of what is causal and what is not causal.

This is not to be trifled with.