George noted that "All data, as is often said, is theory laden. & of
course in turn, all theories have to be tested against data. & there
isn't any cookbook formula that tells us how to keep those two
requirements in balance."
In agreeing with George on this point, I also note that it was Harold
Jeffreys, the British astronomer, who showed (about 1920 I think) that
any set of observational data could be explained by an infinite number of
theories.
The above is from memory; I cannot find a citation or even my own notes
to verify it, so if I'm wrong, please set me straight. I do have one note
that this claim appears in one of the essays in GAMBLING ON GOD by Jeff
Jordan (1994) but there is no citation in that book, just the claim
itself.
I also have a note (too many of these) that it was Jeffreys, a fairly
famous (with his wife) British scientist of the last century, who was
instrumental in keeping the "continental drift" idea from gaining
recognition for many years.
Burgy (John Burgeson)
www.burgy.50megs.com
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