Andrew Jaffe: Leaves on the Line

Paul Davies had an op-ed in the New York Times, comparing scientists’ reliance “on the the assumption that nature is ordered in a rational and intelligible way” with religious faith. He wants to eschew both in favor of regarding “the laws of physics and the universe they govern as part and parcel of a unitary system, and to be incorporated together within a common explanatory scheme.”

Sean Carroll responds and points to other bloggers, along with the always-pretentious Edge crowd. My opinion on Davies’ not-quite-cogent ideas hasn’t changed since my review of his book. (And a little Bayesian probability helps makes the case that we’re not engaged in mathematical proof, but in testing the repercussions of our theories.)