giles117 wrote:Your car won't start... Scientifically proven by an auto mechanic who runs all the right test (which is a science in and of itself) proves it cannot start, but you believe it will start and in your non scientific effort turn the key and it does start. So who is right? Science or your belief.... They both are, just your belief became reality for you at that moment.
Well, clearly the mechanic didn't run
all the right tests. She didn't turn the key. So her
theory that the car won't start is incorrect. It's based on incomplete experimental evidence. And it doesn't matter whether the driver believes or doesn't believe the car will start. All she has done by turning the key and starting the car is experimentally proven that the mechanic's theory is incorrect.
Scientific theories are proven incorrect all the time. This doesn't make science invalid. In fact, it shows the very strength of science. Science allows, no, begs for the current dogma to be proven wrong. Scientists are completely open to the idea that everything we currently believe about the universe may be wrong. If compelling and reproducible evidence proves a theory is invalid, we must discard that old theory and develop a new one that encompasses the new evidence.
A better analogy between scientists, auto mechanics, believers in God, and drivers might go like this.
An auto mechanic studies a car from bumper to bumper. She finds it has fuel, an engine, an electrical system, etc. The car runs and, even though she doesn't completely understand all the intricate details of how the car works, it generally seems to make sense. The car runs, and from everything she can determine, the car should run. It's self-consistent and self-contained.
Now, the driver comes along and says "The only reason this car runs is because it has invisible, undetectable gremlins living in it. They bring it to life." The mechanic replies "Why do you think that? The car has everything it needs to run. You don't need gremlins to explain why it runs." The driver responds "I just
belive the gremlins are there. I have
faith in them. Can you prove they aren't there?" The mechanic says "No, I guess I can't disprove the existence of invisible, undetectable gremlins. Nor can I disprove the existence of fairies or trolls. All I can say is it seems very clear to me that none of those critters are required to make this car run".
So, where did our universal "car" ultimately come from? It seems that nobody really knows at this point. Gods, gremlins, or alternate dimensions, it's anybody's guess. But, at least as far as we observe things today, the universe is self-contained. Stars, black holes, terrestrial life,.... everything, obeys the laws of physics as we know them. No supernatural intervention required.
Thomas
Don't laugh. That is exactly what Netscape reported. 
