@Hyolobrika @skells @cjd @dhfir

How can ideas be evidence? Empirical observations are evidence, not ideas.

These studies claim to have found some empirical evidence, but mountains of studies out there claim to have found evidence of all sorts of stuff that contradict what we know so. In almost all cases it's simple mistakes, fraud, or someone being bananas. Genuine breakthrough is extremely rare.

How am I to know whether this is one of those extremely rare instances in which a breakthrough has been made, but failed to be taken up by the mainstream? Heck, "orgone energy" isn't even new, it's apparently been around since the 30s so almost a century now.

The chances of something having simply been overlooked/misunderstood due to the arrogance of the scientists of a specific generation decreases as time passes. How many generations of scientists must have looked at "orgone energy" over the almost-century since its first proposition? At some point you have to assume that there simply isn't much to the idea.
@Hyolobrika @cjd @dhfir @skells

>contradict what we know so
*contradict what we know so far
Follow

@taylan @cjd @Hyolobrika@mstdn.io @dhfir
Wolfgang Pauli was no fool and collaborated with Jung on philosophical discussions about certain correspondences between physics and psychology. Ideas like synchronicity are almost impossible to prove in the repeatable, scientific sense - this doesn't mean they don't play a role in the lives of individuals.

True scientific advances often don't look scientific until after the fact. Quantum physics and relativity theory were both seen as outrageous at the time, see the quote above that started this conversation. Common sense =/= scientific truth, and in fact the former is informed by the latter, on a long enough time scale.

That being said, such advances come only at an extremely high threshold of hard work, intelligence, imagination and good fortune - once or twice in a century.

· · SubwayTooter · 1 · 0 · 1
@skells @cjd @Hyolobrika @dhfir

Quantum theory and relativity were questionable, so experiments were done, and they came out more accurate than competing theories. So again, no empirical evidence, no dice.

Is there even any solid theory around "orgone energy" that could be empirically tested? If I'm not mistaken, quantum physics and relativity were based on pretty rigorous calculations to begin with, not wild speculation of esoteric forces.

@taylan @cjd @Hyolobrika@mstdn.io @dhfir I'm not arguing in favour of orgone energy - any theory would have to demonstrate empirical evidence, agreed.

My point is that common sense prejudices are not empirical evidence and the two are often conflated.

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Qoto Mastodon

QOTO: Question Others to Teach Ourselves
An inclusive, Academic Freedom, instance
All cultures welcome.
Hate speech and harassment strictly forbidden.