Eloi wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 10:24 pmDifflugia wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 6:02 pmSo, you have absolutely no idea how a working paleontologist would go about identifying a bone fragment, but you know in your heart of hearts that their answers are wrong?
(...)
I'm sure you have absolutely no idea either...
Why would you think that? One of the most baffling, but persistent features of discussions with science-deniers in general and creationists in particular is the apparent belief that absolutely nobody anywhere knows anything and everyone is bluffing. Do you think that about
all specialists? Do you think that, say, all electricians, airline pilots, and lawyers are just making it up as they go? Do you imagine that nobody
except a professional auto mechanic could possibly know how an automobile engine works? This is even more baffling in the case of scientists because one of the requirements is that one's entire methodology must be published. There's no such thing as a scientific trade secret. If you don't know the process of identifying ancient remains, it's not because the knowledge isn't available to you, but because you've simply chosen not to avail yourself of it. It is a mistake to assume that everyone else is equally disinterested in such things.
Eloi wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 10:24 pmthe French daily Le Monde reported the case of a paleontologist
So, a paleontologist somewhere lied, but his colleagues trusted him? How is that news?
Eloi wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 10:24 pmTell us: why don't they make this kind of news public with the same willingness with which they announce with great fanfare every time they unearth a bone that supposedly belongs to a race of apes linked to humans?
Who are "they" and who says "they" don't? Dishonest people are reported all the time, to the point that it fades into the background. When a civil engineer is caught dishonestly signing off on shoddy contract work, few people care unless the building collapses and kills someone. The people that do care are the ones that rely on that engineer's signature. The same thing happens with
dishonest scientists. I guarantee that it's a big deal among that scientist's colleagues, but most people don't care about paleontology.
Eloi wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 10:24 pmI'll tell you how this article ends:
Obviously, this new case of fraud in science does not cast doubt on the entire scientific world. It does, however, provide further evidence that arguments of paleontology when pitted against the unfailing accuracy of the Bible record are often nothing more than what the apostle Paul called “the contradictions of the ‘knowledge’ which is not knowledge at all.”—1 Timothy 6:20, The New Jerusalem Bible.
An article in
The Watchtower concluding with a
non sequitur supported by an out-of-context quote from the Bible? Color me shocked!
Eloi wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 10:24 pmYou have to learn to differentiate between true science and speculation, between myths that they call "scientific truths" and proven realities, true knowledge and false one.
Exactly, but the only way to do that is to learn how scientists
actually do their jobs.
It's kind of like being able to spot counterfeit money. Knowing just that counterfeit money exists isn't particularly helpful without knowing the specifics. Not everybody does but it would be a mistake to assume that because
you can't spot a counterfeit coin, nobody can, even coin collectors or bank professionals.