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Article 2762 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Cargo Cult Science
Message-ID: <1992Jan15.233941.27524@mp.cs.niu.edu>
Date: 15 Jan 92 23:39:41 GMT
Article-I.D.: mp.1992Jan15.233941.27524
References: <92Jan15.175909est.14446@neat.cs.toronto.edu>
Organization: Northern Illinois University
Lines: 29

In article <92Jan15.175909est.14446@neat.cs.toronto.edu> mgreen@cs.toronto.edu (Marc Green) writes:
>>From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
>
>>My point is that anyone except a trained philosopher should be able to
>>see that *correct theories can't be refuted* -- except, perhaps, by describing
>>worlds in which the predicted phenomena won't occur.
>
>Let me see if I get this: Strong AI is a correct theory, so it cannot
>be refuted. Therefore, it doesn't have to be proved. Why? Because it's
>a correct theory. Tautology City Arizona! 

 That is a total misinterpretation.  Nowhere did Minsky assert that AI is
a correct theory.  But the point is, providing a guaranteed way of
refuting it is equivalent to proving it is an incorrect theory.  The
ball is in your court.

>I'm a fool because I don't accept it on faith. Anybody who expects

 Total nonsense.  Nobody says you must accept it on faith.  You are
perfectly entitled to say "put up or shut up".  Of course in turn the
AI proponents can ignore your "put up or shut up" as long as there is
somebody else willing to listen to them.


-- 
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  Neil W. Rickert, Computer Science               <rickert@cs.niu.edu>
  Northern Illinois Univ.
  DeKalb, IL 60115                                   +1-815-753-6940


