In math we have the statement if A=B and B=C than A=C. That works in math. That works in logic. It is a useful tool in much of the world of research.
It does not necessarily work in science. Why?
Most people only deal with math as it can be used in the physical world. Advanced mathematics goes into the world of philosophy and imagination. There are terms in math which are impossible in the real world but they are useful for computations. One example would be the square root of -1. If you don’t remember, a negative times a negative results in a positive, thus a negative number could not have a square root in the real world but is useful in advanced math.
Science is the area that must take the speculation and logic of math and apply it to the real world. In the real world it doesn’t work to have numbers that can’t exist. How does it work in the kitchen or factory? It doesn’t. That is why science relies on the scientific method. In the method you start with logic and a hypothesis but you must find an empirical experiment that demonstrates if it is true or not.
What difference does it make? The development of medicine was held back for centuries because it was based on logic, not experiment. Doctors denied the benefit of washing your hands between patients because they had no logical reason to believe that disease could be transmitted that way. They could not see the germs, thus they did not exist. A doctor came up with a hypothesis, demonstrated that it produced results and saved lives and, as a reward, he was hounded out of the profession because it went against the current logic.
Many current scientific “facts” are based on logic, not science. Evolution is one. It makes sense. It is logical. The only problem is that the evidence works against it. Man made global warming is another. How many times does it need to be demonstrated that the scientific “evidence” for man made global warming was based on lies and rigged computer models before the general press admits it was a fraud?
Logic is a good place to start but apply the benefits of modern western civilization and follow up with some good, honest science.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.