Saturday, February 27, 2010

More Unscientific Idiocy

Ray Comfort responded to a comment from one of his critical readers, and the response is just amazingly dumb. The original comment was...
Ray you don't know the first thing about science. You're the guy who thought falling violated Gravity.
And Ray's response...
Physics.about.com says: "Newton's law of gravity defines the attractive force between all objects that possess mass. Understanding the law of gravity, one of the fundamental forces of physics, offers profound insights into the way our universe functions." So, I’m not the only one who believes that there is such a thing as "the law of gravity," and if it's a law, it can be violated.

If you hit the ground at 120 mph from 1,000 feet, you will suffer the consequences of violating what physics.about.com calls the law of gravity. If you will remember the context in which I called gravity a law--I said that if you break the law of gravity, you will suffer the consequences...."
I've discussed scientific laws and theories before, and I think I was actually a little off the mark then. I've since been told that a "law" describes a mathematical relationship. The "Law of Gravity" is a mathematical formula that you can use to calculate exactly how quickly two massive objects will accelerate toward each other. The "Theory of Gravity" is an effort explain how and why that acceleration occurs. There is no denying that acceleration due to gravity occurs, but physicists are still working out the mechanism. Similarly, the Theory of Evolution is an effort to explain the how and why of the process of evolution. That evolution occurs is only doubted by science denialists like Ray Comfort.

Make no mistake, though. You can not violate the law of gravity. If you fall from 1,000 feet, you will not suffer the consequences of violating the law of gravity: you will suffer the consequences of obeying the law of gravity.

Ray goes on to try to turn it into a sort of parable, but it's a parable built on a false premise, so it falls flat.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Black Gryphon 2010

Just a few pictures from the event. Many wonderful classes were enjoyed by all, I think.