Is Scientific Knowledge Just Common Sense? A Look at Hawking's Universe

[Evo]

Tonight's episode of Naked Science on the National Geographic Channel.

Naked Science: Hawking's Universe: Exploring Stephen Hawking's groundbreaking theories about the origin of the universe. The hour includes interviews with the legendary physician, who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of 21.

 

[Moonbear]

LOL! It took me a while to figure out what you were talking about with the thread title, then I got to the last line. It's better than calling him a psychic at least.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

interviews with the legendary physician...

...noted astrologers and cosmetologists, as well.

 

[Evo]

...noted astrologers and cosmetologists, as well.

I remember when I was young, eons ago, I mentioned to someone that I was interested in cosmology. Their reply, "Oh, my sister is a hairdresser!".

 

[Proton Soup]

i think physicians were actually called physics, once.

 

[cronxeh]

Ah I was going to join you guys in a hearty laughter there, but then I caught myself in some snobbism moment and realized.. we are laughing at people's mistakes, stupidity, or just ignorance in most cases. Which brings me to my other point, and that is.. I'm not sure we get to laugh at it at all

 

[Doug Huffman]

I see 'skills, crafts and trades' ads for cosmetologists and nail technicians frequently. Words don't mean much anymore. Karl Popper hinted around this in the first few pages of The Logic of Scientific Discovery. My notes from the page,

Scientific knowledge is a development of common-sense knowledge is a formulation in ordinary language and invisible to those confining themselves to the ordinary and common-sensical.