Greg writes:
> I'm not sure which of the Huxleys Wirt means, although my first guess would
> be Thomas Henry, Darwin's bulldog, and coiner of the term "agnostic". Calvin
> and Hobbes seems to come from a perspective shaped by ideas which are
> ultimately religious. Somehow, I don't see Darwin filling those sneakers, or
> adolescent Darwin and Huxley playing out the issues of character or
> imagination which were at the heart of the strip.
You haven't been reading your daily reading assignments of Darwin and Huxley
that I've been sending you, have you? Character and imagination are
everything in a Darwinian universe.
BTW, Darwin's education was not in biology as you might expect, but rather he
graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Divinity. Indeed, he
hired on as the unpaid naturalist on the HMS Beagle just a few months after
he graduated, simply because he didn't have anything else to do. Throughout
all of that trip, faced with what he was finding, he constantly berated
himself for not paying more attention in the natural history classes.
> Although I can imagine a
> disheveled, brown-haired and round-faced little boy playing by the creek
> with his bulldog, and doing somewhat more limited things with the
> Transmogrifier.
I've included below a posting of mine that I put on sci.bio.ecology seven
years ago. The subject is one that represents a constant sorepoint in
science. Empiricists often feel looked down upon by the theoretical
community. As a result, they often overreact, claiming that theory limits
science, as did David Lawrence below, with theoretical "preconceived notions"
being a tremendous impediment to the conduct of science.
I could not disagree with that stance more. It was easy for me to post the
quotes that I did because I have a framed copy of Darwin's quote,
interspersed with the two cartoon strips from Calvin & Hobbes, hanging on the
wall next to my desk. It's still there, with Calvin and Darwin reminding me
every day that to do true science, every observation must be for or against
some view if it is to be of any value.
Science without theory is not science. It may be wholly legitimate
exploration, a necessary precursor to science, but it does not represent
understanding, which is the ultimate goal. Calvin seems to deeply understand
that, even if Suzie doesn't.
=======================================
From: WirtAtmar ([log in to unmask])
Subject: Re: Theory and research
Newsgroups: sci.bio.ecology
View: Complete Thread (11 articles) | Original Format
Date: 1995/11/04
WHAT VALUE THEORY?
David M. Lawrence writes:
>It seems that these days we are all too ready to
>denigrate observation in the absence of theory, when
>it is valuable to be able to observe the real world
>without being contaminated by "theory." Preconceived
>notions can be a tremendous impediment to the
>advancement of any science.
>While I feel that it is much more efficient to conduct
>research with a particular question in mind, I also
>feel that Hal Caswell's comment to the effect that
>there is no research without theory is ludicrous.
Three of my favorite quotes in response to the question what value theory
plays in observation -- or whether or not science can even exist in the
absence of theory -- are those of Charles Darwin, Henri Poincare' and
Calvin, of "Calvin & Hobbes". Poincare's quote is, unfortunately, from
memory and thus is only a paraphrase. By coincidence, three of the four
quotes deal with counting rocks.
==============================
"About thirty years ago, there was much talk that geologists ought only to
observe and not theorize; and I well remember someone saying that at this
rate a man might as well go into a gravel-pit and count the pebbles and
describe the colors. How odd it is that anyone should not see that all
observation must be for or against some view if it is to be of any
service!"
Charles Darwin, 1861, in a letter to Henry Fawcett
==============================
"A collection of facts in the absence of a hypothesis is no more science
than a pile of rocks is a house."
Henri Poincare', date & source unremembered.
==============================
First cartoon: Calvin & Hobbes, April 23, 1993, in four cartoon panels:
Panel 1: Calvin is standing in the middle of a gravel field, and says: "I
think I'll count all the rocks I can find.
Panel 2: With many large piles of rocks now behind him, he says: "400
trillion and three. 400 trillion and four. 400 trillion and five..."
Panel 3: Calvin wakes with a start from a dream...
Panel 4: and says: "Wow. I bored myself awake."
===============================
The next day's cartoon: Calvin & Hobbes, April 24, 1993, in four cartoon
panels:
Panel 1: Calvin is sitting at the grammar school lunch table next to Suzie
when he says: "Curiosity is the essence of the scientific mind."
Panel 2: He continues: "For example, you know how milk comes out of your
nose if you laugh while drinking?"
Panel 3: Calvin sticks straws up his nose and says: "Well, I'm going to
see what happens when I inhale milk *into* my nose and laugh!"
Panel 4: Suzie, getting up from the table in disgust, says: "Idiocy is the
essence of the male mind." Calvin says, calling after her: "I'm guessing
it will shoot out of my ears. Don't you want to see?"
===============================
Wirt Atmar
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