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From: cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm)
Subject: Re: Why scientists popularize premature speculations?
References: <3c015j$9n8@pobox.csc.fi> <3c04ga$l5v@prime.mdata.fi> <3c0vjo$ifi@pobox.csc.fi>
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Date: Thu, 8 Dec 1994 21:12:52 GMT
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In article <3c0vjo$ifi@pobox.csc.fi> grohn@finsun.csc.fi (Lauri Gr|hn) writes:

>	So but you have not understood the subject of this
>discussion. It was not about "filtering". It was about
>why to count your chickens before they are hatched,

There is always debate about whether or not the chickens are hatched.
The proved facts and established theories of science are an illusion
of journalists, textbooks, and school science teachers. Science has no
Pope to tell us the truth.

Your notion that scientists ought to avoid confusing laymen with
speculations could only work if we could decide with reasonable
certainty who is a scientist, who is a layman, and what is an
established fact. Short of a dictatorship or theocracy this is
impossible. It's impossibility is often cited as an argument in favour
of democracy and freedom of information.

>pourquoi vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tue?

There are many reasons, but one is that in the current scientific
climate this is often the only way to get research funds.
-- 
Chris Malcolm    cam@uk.ac.ed.aifh          +44 (0)31 650 3085
Department of Artificial Intelligence,    Edinburgh University
5 Forrest Hill, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL, UK                DoD #205
"The mind reigns, but does not govern" -- Paul Valery
