Saturday, May 10, 2008

Question: science and change

It's often said (correctly) that science constantly changes its paradigms and dominant theories. One example I'm thinking of is Mercury. Before 1965, it was thought that the same face of Mercury always faces the sun. After 1965, it became clear that the previous data was flawed, and that Mercury rotates with respect to the sun.

So here's a question for all you out there. Let's say you lived before 1965. Would you be right in thinking that Mercury always has the same side facing the sun? And in what sense of "right"?

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