Re: [asa] Untestable -- Is it Science?

But this signage says simply: "untestable." So something can be
"untestable" and yet be a "scientific" theory because, as Dave S. said, they
are applying what is know to what is observed, even though the resulting
theory cannot be tested by any kind of observation?

(I don't doubt, BTW, that theories about how dinosaurs behaved can be called
"scientific." It just interests me that "testable" isn't really the gold
standard here.)

On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 8:06 AM, Jack <drsyme@cablespeed.com> wrote:

> Of course. It depends on the theory, not all of them are testable. But
> if a theory of animal behavior predicts certain findings, and those findings
> are able to be preserved in the fossil record then the theory can be tested.
>
> BTW I heard of a camp at that museum for kids, where you get to spend and
> evening and then sleep over one night inside the museum, have you heard
> about that?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* David Opderbeck <dopderbeck@gmail.com>
> *To:* ASA List <asa@lists.calvin.edu>
> *Sent:* Friday, June 06, 2008 10:21 PM
> *Subject:* [asa] Untestable -- Is it Science?
>
> I spent a lovely afternoon today with my ten year old son at the Museum of
> Natural History in New York. This display of a pachycephalasaurus -- an
> alien-looking, dome headed dinosaur -- caught my eye. If you can't see the
> attached photos, the signage says: "we cannot be sure how
> pachycephalasaurus used their skull caps, becuase theories about the
> behaviors of extinct animals cannot be tested." So are theories about
> extinct animal behaviors "science"?
>
> --
> David W. Opderbeck
> Associate Professor of Law
> Seton Hall University Law School
> Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology
>
>

-- 
David W. Opderbeck
Associate Professor of Law
Seton Hall University Law School
Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology
To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.