Re: Positor's Poems
by Positor on September 20th, 2018, 10:25 pm
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
We know that scientists are often wrong;
Objective evidence may not be strong.
A theory may evolve; a paradigm
May suffer metamorphosis through time.
Contrasting models may compete, or mix,
Impelled by fashion, hype, or politics.
The older generation may cling fast
To notions that fresh minds consider past.
But always, through a blend of age and youth,
We run the asymptotic course to Truth.
And should some smug contrarians demur,
Let them decide which era they'd prefer.
Coherent metaphysics has its place
(If founded on a firm empiric base)
In pondering Existence and the Mind,
While logic serves to keep terms well defined.
An honest skeptic may, with reason, doubt
Exotic entities one reads about,
Or warn of hubris shown by Nobel winners
Who treat distinguished rivals like beginners.
'Tis laudable that thinkers execrate
Injunctions to 'shut up and calculate'.
So far, so good: philosophy and science
Abrade each other in a rough alliance.
But wait! Behold the long-frustrated hordes
Who regularly hog discussion boards -
Some fools, some jokers, some with Freudian twists,
And all of them prodigious narcissists.
Persistently they chant their siren song:
What is not perfect is completely wrong,
And since each theory has unending tweaks,
We've no more knowledge than the ancient Greeks.
Because new thought trumps incremental grind,
We should defer to a creative mind,
And either feast upon their novel fruit
Or grimly take the nihilistic route.
The anti-evolutionists who post
On shaky grounds (some Dawkins pop, at most)
Display their ignorance of modern trends
By faulting Darwin to achieve their ends.
Creationism - open or concealed -
Informs their interventions in this field;
The faithful would defend God's ancient writ,
While sophists sidestep facts and ask: "What's 'fit'?"
Biologists invoke the Earth's great age
And point to fossils formed at every stage,
But their opponents cast what doubt they can,
And trust no claims about so great a span.
In physics, common formulae provide
Another set of facts to be denied.
The would-be Maxwells write their own equations
(Debunked by forum experts on occasions),
But most revisionists are irked by numbers
And opt for instinct, which dull math encumbers.
The so-called paradoxes of SR
Involving travel to some distant star,
The curious properties of time and space,
Frame-independent light rays' constant pace
And length contraction strain their common sense.
How keen they are to jump to its defence!
The usual problem in these situations
Is unawareness of one's limitations.
The spirit of the modern age exhorts
Both smart and dumb alike to air their thoughts.
A wish for fame, a craving for respect,
An urge to call one's betters incorrect,
Combine with failure to attach due weight
To any prior relevant debate.
The upshot is that honest but naive
Contributors who say what they believe
Are interspersed with charlatans and trolls
Who swagger in with their subversive goals.
Science is hard, and needs well-managed fora;
'Plain truth' and 'common sense' are oxymora.
The truth is never plain, and common notions
Make little sense in terms of cosmic motions.
If everyone would listen, read and learn,
These threads might take a more enlightened turn!