[extropy-chat] what is probability?

[Benjamin Goertzel]

Yes, but there are many theories that can explain that particular
observation, some of which do not involve curved spacetime and operate
within the general Newtonian perspective.  I don't have the references
handy but I have read this work years ago...

The reason GR is favored over these alternative explanations of the
observation is its conceptual and mathematical elegance, not the fact
that it was formulated prior to the observation being made...

BTW the point of view I am giving here is considered commonsense among
nearly all theoretical physicists, so this is really not a matter of
"philosophers versus scientists."  It's a matter of your naive realist
view of science, versus an accurate portrayal of science as a
collective human activity.

ben

> >That is a prediction of Special Relativity, not General Relativity.
>
> True, but I don't quite see your point, but if you want an example from
> General Relativity I will give you one. A clock on the first floor of a
> building will run more slowly than an identical clock on the second floor
> because it is closer to the Earth's center and gravity is a little stronger
> there, so time slows down a little more. That's been measured in the
> lab too, and Einstein predicted it and Newton did not. Elegance be
> damned.
>
>   John K Clark
>
>
>
>
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