Question:
>We are surrounded by >facts.
Not in science. What you see as "fact" is actually well accepted hypotheses. Some well tested hypotheses such as that the earth is not flat is so well accepted that it is *virtual* fact. Chuck
Response:
"ChuckMSRD" <chuckm…@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031210061725.04241.00000629@mb-m29.aol.com… > >We are surrounded by > >facts. > Not in science. What you see as "fact" is actually well accepted hypotheses. > Some well tested hypotheses such as that the earth is not flat is so well > accepted that it is *virtual* fact. > Chuck
Welll… actually we *are* surrounded by facts, and science wouldn’t be valid without them. We call them "data". :-) ((U)) M
Response:
Michael; > > Not in science. What you see as "fact" is actually well accepted > hypotheses. > > Some well tested hypotheses such as that the earth is not flat is so well > > accepted that it is *virtual* fact. > > Chuck > Welll… actually we *are* surrounded by facts, and science wouldn’t be > valid without them. > We call them "data". :-)
Science is a collection of theories. Theories are ways of explaining what is out there. Some have said science is like a giant jigsaw puzzle; the theories are the pieces that are all supposed to fit into each other neatly. But sometimes they don’t. If a theory is not working anymore, it can be overturned, even the most venerable ones. Just look what Einstein did to Newton’s theories of gravity. Newton’s theories of gravity still work on the local level, but not in the vast area of outer space. Or the miniscule world of subatomic particles. Hey, read "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn. He explains it a hell of a lot better than I can. I don’t think I’m explaining this very clearly. Epistemology can give me a headache! Sylvia
Response:
In <news:e43f7f84.0312101949.6378df62@posting.google.com>, Sylvia said: > Michael; >>> Not in science. What you see as "fact" is actually well accepted >> hypotheses. >>> Some well tested hypotheses such as that the earth is not flat is >>> so well accepted that it is *virtual* fact. >>> Chuck >> Welll… actually we *are* surrounded by facts, and science wouldn’t >> be valid without them. >> We call them "data". :-) > Science is a collection of theories.
No it isn’t. Scientific literature is a collection of theories (and other things.) Science is an assortment of methods for the orderly collection and the historically self-correcting organization of information, both factual and… well, "imagined", for lack of a better word. A hypothesis is and orderly but "imagined" collection of information in search of data (facts) to support it. A theory is an orderly but imagined collection of information that happens to be supported by a collection of data (facts). Theories fail (or are modified to suit) when facts are uncovered which contradict them. A law is a "presumed fact"… a theory which is proven by all knowable facts that relate to it. All of these are the province of science, but none is science itself. Science is the organized methodology – the rules – by which we determine what imagined information can be fitted to which facts to make coherent theories… and eventually, to understand the working of laws. ((U)) M
Response:
Is MS an auto-immune disease? I already have those white lesions on my brain. Then, I have some kind of problems with my cervical spine that the neurosurgeon is "afraid to operate on". Now, I’ve got an elevated ANA level. My rheumy put me on Plaquenil four months ago and has me coming back in February. The Plaquenil doesn’t do a thing. I hurt so bad that the last time I went to the physiatrist they asked me what my pain level was and then answered "10" themselves. I thought you had to be half dead to hit that level. Should I even mention those white lesions to the rheumy next February? Isn’t MS auto-immune? ~*~Barb~*~TOO!
Response:
This is a question of the century.what does cause this dreadful disease? Yikes, Rose "B B" <BBE…@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:24160-3FD3C0F1-255@storefull-2317.public.lawson.webtv.net… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Is MS an auto-immune disease? > I already have those white lesions on my brain. > Then, I have some kind of problems with my cervical spine that the > neurosurgeon is "afraid to operate on". > Now, I’ve got an elevated ANA level. My rheumy put me on Plaquenil four > months ago and has me coming back in February. The Plaquenil doesn’t do > a thing. > I hurt so bad that the last time I went to the physiatrist they asked me > what my pain level was and then answered "10" themselves. I thought you > had to be half dead to hit that level. > Should I even mention those white lesions to the rheumy next February? > Isn’t MS auto-immune? > ~*~Barb~*~TOO!
Response:
BBE…@webtv.net (B B) wrote in message <news:24160-3FD3C0F1-255@storefull-2317.public.lawson.webtv.net>… > I already have those white lesions on my brain. > Then, I have some kind of problems with my cervical spine that the > neurosurgeon is "afraid to operate on". > Now, I’ve got an elevated ANA level. My rheumy put me on Plaquenil four > months ago and has me coming back in February. The Plaquenil doesn’t do > a thing. > Should I even mention those white lesions to the rheumy next February? > Isn’t MS auto-immune?
dear barb, the current thought is that M.S. is an autoimmune disease, or at least a disease with auto-immune components. how do you know you have white lesions on your brain? did you get an MRI? i read a stat that said up to 20% of the U.S. population has elevated ANA levels, and has no chronic illness at all…by itself, elevated ANA doesn’t mean anything — it could be indicative of a number of auto-immune diseases, or it could mean nothing, some people’s levels are apparently simply higher than the norm. if your rheumatologist is your primary doc, then yes, definitely, i think you should mention it — what were they looking for when they found the brain lesions, and were you diagnosed with anything, or referred to a rheumatologist but not a neurologist, or….? rose
Response:
I’ve had two cranial MRI’s. Both shower the white lesions and there was a small increase in the sizes on the second one. My PCP is an internist and he sent me to the rheumy after the elevated ANA showed up. A neuro had ordered the MRIs over a year ago. Now, they say that the cervical MRI I had recently is cloudy around my spine. There ‘is’ some herniation but the neurosurgeon said he’s afraid to do any surgery on me unless it’s an emergency. There’s a chance it’s lupus or RA, but I don’t want to overlook the chance that there may be more than one problem, especially with the white lesions. That’s why I came here to ask about it.. rosedawn_sc…@yahoo.com (rose
If you like this post and would like to receive updates from this blog, please subscribe our feed.