Opus 2023-101: Dark Thoughts: Still Dancing on a Pin

How many scientists can dance on the head of a theory?

Bear with me.  This will take a moment to lay out.

I am reading a book called The Return of the God Hypothesis by Steven Meyer.  To be honest, much of it is over my head but Meyer really tries hard to bring it down to the level of a layman.  I skim a lot of the formulas and jargon and still manage to get the gist of what he is saying.  He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Science and I am beginning to understand what that means.  When we think of a Ph.D. in a field of science we think of people doing experiments and looking for a better understanding of how the world works, think of Crick and DNA, or someone delving into mathematics looking for a better way of dealing with how it all works, think of Einstein.  The Philosophy of Science guy needs a basic understanding of the math and research but takes it to the level of why.  They can go over the hill like the ones dancing on the head of a theory or metaphysical like Meyer.

What got me off on this was my Dark Thoughts moments, sitting on the front porch in the dark contemplating God and His universe and having my mind go off on tangent.  My mind went to a guy named Max Tegmark who came up with the theory that there are an infinite number of universes existing at the same time.  (I had to look up his name just to show you how academic I am).  At first I delved into my science fiction stories about parallel universes.  If you are a Star Trek enthusiast you may remember the episode where the transporter malfunctioned and switched Kirk with a different Kirk who was basically a pirate or Klingon.  Fun stuff in science fiction.  Retarded in science, or shall we say “Theory dancing.”

Now pay attention to the logic as I understand it.  If there are an infinite number of universes, which are necessary for this “scientist” to make his point, then there is a universe out there somewhere in which Napoleon won the battle of Waterloo.  I think you are with me so far but the logic of this takes another jump.  If there are an infinite number of universes then there are also an infinite number of universes where Napoleon won at Waterloo and an infinite number of universes in which he lost at Waterloo.  Are you getting the fun of Philosophy of Science yet?  This is all theory with a basic motivation of trying to figure out how the universe happened without Intelligent Design.  It is amazing how far people will go to deny God exists.  

There is a line in science, think of it as a Rubicon, in which genuine, serious science crosses over from the search for knowledge about our universe into a philosophy game that has no rules except being clever.  This is where I get my question about scientists dancing on the head of a theory.  Remember how your teachers used to smirk about the medieval churchmen who debated how many angels could dance on the head of a pin?  It is the same type of argument.  The big difference is that the medieval Scholastics announced up front that it was an exercise in debate not a seeking of knowledge.  They knew it was nonsense but it sharpened their thinking skills.  These scientists expect you to take them seriously.

Maybe they need to have their thinking skills sharpened.

Meyer, Stephen C.  Return of the God Hypothesis.  New York:  Harper One, 2021.

homo unius libri