Re: truth and science

Donald E Degraaf (degraafd@umich.edu)
Thu, 5 Jun 1997 20:26:24 -0400 (EDT)

Dear David et al:

No doubt there are some verities in the ongoing discussion of truth on
this listserv. But the statement "The atomic weight of Gold is 79" " is
not one of them.. I was going to let that goof pass, but since it is now
being incorporated into "truth" theory, it's time for a correction.

The atomic _number_ of gold is 79. But the atomic "weight" (or, atomic
_mass_, as we physicists call it) of a natural mixture of gold isotopes
is 197.0.

All that glitters is not truth.

Don DeGraaf