Re: [Paddlewise] Pro's and Con's of the "Swede Form"

On Jun 6, 15:26, Nick Schade wrote:
} Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pro's and Con's of the "Swede Form"
> At 8:02 AM -0400 6/4/99, John Winters wrote:
> 
> >You know me, "If you can't measure a thing you don't know much about it".
> >:-)
> >
> >Actually I didn't think that up. It comes from Lord Kelvin who said, "If
> >you can measure that of which you speak, and can express it by number, you
> >know something of your subject. But if you cannot measure it, your
> >knowledge is meager and unsatisfactory."
> 
> Now we're getting into philosophy of science. If something is not
> measurable, does it still exist? I can not measure the mass of an electron,
> yet I am willing to accept that it has a mass. I don't see why the noise
> produced by a tree falling in the forest is dependant on the sensitivity of
> my ear.

But the mass of an electron can and has been measured, and it is useful
information to those working at that level.

The noise produced by a tree falling in the forest is not dependent on
the sensitivity of your ear.  Your *knowledge* of the noise is, however.

The question is not of existence of things you cannot measure; the
question is of your knowledge of things you cannot or have not measured.



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