Anomalies & Science

[rynner2]

A thoughtful article on the philosophy of science, and its attitude to anomalies is here
Link is long dead. The original webpage to which the dead link pointed can be retrieved via the Wayback Machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20120229151058/http://paraview.com/features/bauer.htm

The published version of the essay appeared in:

Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 459–463, 2001

... and a PDF file of the published article can be accessed at:

https://www.scientificexploration.org/docs/15/jse_15_4_bauer.pdf

Are surprises anomalies? Are anomalies surprising?

In passing, the author describes Skeptics as "science groupies", who find all anomalies surprising!

 

[intaglio]

Skeptic = science groupie is reasonably apt. They are uncritical of of sciences weakness' but then the vast majority of people are the same.

As to whether anomalies can be unsurprising? I think they must be suprising, for whilst their appearance may not be suprising their form and consequences must be. To use the birthday party analogy - you may know that your partner has been arranging something special for your birthday, you may even suspect it is a party but the guests, their numbers and their presents will be.

As with any human endeavour the majority of people undertaking science as a career will not be innovative. Those that are tend to be young as they have not learnt what to ignore. Very few can make a career of innovation.

There's a quote - "Orthodoxy is my doxy, heterodoxy is another mans doxy". It is a shame that paradoxy is not a word because then you could complete the metaphor by saying "Paradoxy is a home wrecker".

 

[rynner2]

Any relation to Para Handy?

Sorry! It's time for bed - see you all tomorrow (modem permitting)

 

[brianellwood]

Interesting article, especially to forteans as we are here to look at anomalies! Isn't an anomaly a contradiction to the status quo or even to your extrapolation of a theory? trouble is theories to explain phenomena often become "truths", but we can never know the absolute truth, just posit a workable explanation. The danger is certainly when economics and personal gain and kudos get in the way.

 

[TheOriginalCujo]

I don't think an anomaly is necesarly a suprise. By definition anomalies are unexpected, but that's not the same as surprising.

I think that wether an anomaly is surprising or not depends on how old or well established the branch of science that it comes from is. An anomaly in Chaos theory is hardly an anomaly at all, but an anomaly in optics is pretty damn surprising.

Cujo

 

[Anonymous]

Surely it wouldn't be an anomaly if it wasn't surprising?

 

[rynner2]

...but an anomaly in optics is pretty damn surprising.

Cujo

Which brings us back to Orbs! Mike_Legs and I have been corresponding over this, and Mike has produced some good 'orb' pictures formed from dust particles, etc, close to the camera lens; I've done some maths on the process too.

Perhaps we're just re-inventing the wheel, and real photographers have known all this stuff for years. It seems to be the profusion of idiot-proof automatic cameras with built in flash near the lens that has brought the thing to the forefront in recent years.

Our theory will be totally shot down if someone can produce a picture of an orb partly obscured by a foreground object - over to you, folks!

 

[Breakfastologist]

There was a bunch of stuff about how science will forcefully ignore any result that conflicts with the orthodox I have read, I believe either "Mysteries" or "The Occult" by Colin Wilson has a lot on this. I'm sure I'll get flamed for having read them, but meh.

I once heard someone point out that it is an absolute heresy for a biologist to suggest that something can be affected by being observed and it is absolute heresy for a physicist to say the reverse.

At the same time, I like the fact that there is a bunch of stuff that science can't explain. I think a world in which everything was explicable in strict scientific terms would be profoundly depressing.

 

[EnolaGaia]

Here's the abstract of the article at issue ...

Abstract—Surprises are anomalies when they not only occur unexpectedly but also run distinctly counter to established beliefs. Is then every anomaly also a surprise? Yes and no. They always surprise those working in the given field; but historians and philosophers of science and other pundits know that anomalies are bound to crop up as science progresses; indeed, science pro- gresses because of the recurrence of anomalies.

The contemporary and widely acclaimed knowledge explosion has a little- remarked corollary: anomalies will occur more frequently. At the same time, the increasing influence exerted by those who provide research funds makes more damaging the tendency to ignore anomalies and stick with what has suc- cessfully brought funding in the past.

SOURCE: https://www.scientificexploration.org/docs/15/jse_15_4_bauer.pdf