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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page essay that examines the basis for what does and does not make a scientific theory trustworthy. The writer substantiates her opinions by referring to James S. Perlman's book Science Without Limits. No other sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_00scth.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
properly! From the beginning of time, humanity has observed the natural world and then formed ideas and images in order to explain
what was observed. The ideas and images that people formed concerning these observations were necessarily influenced by the limitations of the knowledge of the observer, as well as the prevalent
social, intellectual and technological conditions of a particular era. In his book Science Without Limits, Dr. James S. Perlman takes the reader on a fascinating journey through history, which illustrates
the various ways in which science evolved over the centuries and how the discoveries of Western science have served to modify the ways that society views the world. In so
doing, Perlman educates the reader on a topic that is often misunderstood by the public at large?the trustworthiness of scientific theory. From ancient times, humanity has understood that sensory information
cannot be trusted?a spoon appears to bend when dipped in a cup of tea; the sun appears to move across the sky, etc. (Perlman 17). Plato considered sensory information to
be so unsubstantial that he compared it to flickering shadows on a cave wall (17). Ptolemy, the ancient Greek astronomer, based his theories pertaining to an earth-centered solar system on
his unaided observations of the heavens. Despite his miscellaneous charts, tables and predictions of planet and star movements, which were accurate enough to serve as a navigation aid to sailors,
Ptolemys theory was still wrong because it was predicated on a false assumption (Perlman 84). Therefore, despite the fact that Ptolemys theory of an earth-centered universe was accepted as fact
by learned men and scholars for literally hundreds of years, it proved to be untrustworthy. Nevertheless, one of the theories proposed by the ancient Greeks proved to be correct. To
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