Re:The sinister attempts to ‘decolonise’ mathematics
by roenxi on Tuesday November 15, 2022 @07:06AM
(#33608143)
That is perfectly scientific. It becomes unscientific is when people pretend it worked, or that they'd ever seen it work.
Materials science follows in the footsteps of the alchemists, keeping alive the grand tradition of mixing random stuff together to see what happens. They too are frequently mixing things together in the hope of getting specific outcomes - usually it doesn't work.
Science is about how people deal with evidence. There wasn't any reason to think that gold couldn't be produced by mixing stuff together in the days when alchemy was popular. After all, a bunch of other substances could be made by mixing things, and it is obviously possible to mix liquids and get solids.
Materials science follows in the footsteps of the alchemists, keeping alive the grand tradition of mixing random stuff together to see what happens. They too are frequently mixing things together in the hope of getting specific outcomes - usually it doesn't work.
Science is about how people deal with evidence. There wasn't any reason to think that gold couldn't be produced by mixing stuff together in the days when alchemy was popular. After all, a bunch of other substances could be made by mixing things, and it is obviously possible to mix liquids and get solids.