Thread: Science and its numbers

Science is just an ever-increasing, head-spinning and mind-blowing number of equations and numbers that the likes of quarks, strings, tunnels, worms and superstrings need to tell us that,
just to start with,
half the universe is missing.
The anti-matter half.

These numbers then go on to prove that at least nine-tenths of the remaining half of the universe is also missing.
Science is just a series of these head-spinning theories, equations and numbers that takes real geniuses to swallow, and then play with, to keep increasing the numbers
that can prove to them
that at least 1/20th of the universe is real
and probably another 9/20ths also
but only as long as the first half stays lost.

It's indeed striking that scientists deliberately have to manipulate reality to get to, often useful, conclusions. Your example that presentday astrophysics needs the impossible assumption that 'half of what exists, doesn't exist' is a very good illustration of this.
I guess that's all part of the process of expanding our knowledge. If you build a house, you need to place some support-pillars in place first before making the real wall. Or so. Hm I have to work on my metaphors :wink:

Originally Posted by Pendragon

It's indeed striking that scientists deliberately have to manipulate reality to get to, often useful, conclusions. Your example that presentday astrophysics needs the impossible assumption that 'half of what exists, doesn't exist' is a very good illustration of this.

Are you talking about the problem of missing mass and the proposal that dark matter makes up most of the mass of the Universe? I don't know of any theory about 'matter that exists but doesn't exist'.

Math can't alter reality. Math is used to describe reality. Ultimatly a theory rises or falls on observations which are either consistent with the theory or contradict it.