Dr Faustus of Modern Physics - Department of Speech, Music and ...

212 CHAPTER 48. PENGUIN LOGIC
used to motivate that the assumption is not just an assumption but a true
fact: There is molecular chaos and a smallest quantum of energy, electrons
do respect the exclusion principle, the Lorentz transformation must connect
different observations, space-time is curved, light is photons, there was a Big
Bang, there is a black hole in the center of a galaxy, a proton is three quarks,
the Earth is resting on four tortoises, CO2 is a critical greenhouse gas.
Notice also that in all cases, it is impossible to directly check if the assumption
is valid, which is part of the beauty. The assumption is hidden
to inspection and can only be tested indirectly: It is impossible to directly
observe molecular chaos, a smallest quantum of energy, photon, electron, particle
exclusion, wave-function collapse, uncertainty, quark, space-time curvature,
black hole, tortoise, string...or that CO2 is a critical greenhouse gas.
It is therefore impossible to directly disprove their existence...Clever, but
there is an obvious drawback, since the existence is also impossible to verify...science
or pseudo-science?
The argument is that the assumption must be true, because this is the
only way a theoretical explanation seems to be possible. Our inability to
come up with an alternative explanation thus is used as evidence: The more
we restrict our creativity and perspective, the more sure we get that we are
right. Convincing or penguin science?
Compare the same logic in a trial: If we assume X had a reason to kill Y,
then we can theoretically explain the observed murder of Y. Hence X had a
reason to kill Y. And thus probably did it! What if you were X?
Notice in particular that present climate politics is based on the idea
that CO2 is the cause of the observed global warming, with the motivation
that certain theoretical climate models show global warming from CO2. But
the observed modest global warming during the 20th century of 0.7 degrees
Celsius may have natural causes rather than anthropogenic burning of fossil
fuels. What do you think? What does a penguin in the Antarctic think?
Compare e.g. EIKE.