Re: Fw: GM Food & Feed Not Fit for "Man or Beast"

[Judith Rosen <***>]

> <<[John M. wrote]:
> "widen"? how far? limited to the topical cut we call "biological
> systems"? (that would not be a natural system approach).<<
>
I'm not quite sure what aspect of this you're referring to, John. It's
always true that science is going to be certain things; namely, abstract and
limited.

The reason I'm talking about biological systems specifically is because in
the situation of GM crops and agriculture, those are the systems being
discussed. But there's also the larger reason which my father discovered:
biological systems are of the same consistent nature as the systems studied
by physics, only "more" so.

> <<[John M. wrote];
> Lately 'theory' started to be understood as 'a formalistic, quanti setup'.
I
> wonder if  RR's phrase:
> "It's important to start from a sound theoretical base."  refers to a well
> established "thought" or a formal, scientifically established
(reductionist)
> 'theory', in which case it seems obvious to me that
> RR was 'teaching' his (science) audience. I paraphrase: "Guys, just start
> from what you know (and believe) and I will lead you to a better way of
> thinking".
> Extracted phrases always make me suspicious.

That kind of suspicion is wise. However, this remark was not taken from his
books but from my memory (which is why I tried to include some context). It
was a common thing for him to say. I learned from him the importance of
looking at "the premise" before looking at the work based on it. If some
study gets the premise wrong, everything else is suspect. This was what he
did when he realized that contemporary physics couldn't answer biological
questions; He went back through history and re-examined all the premises of
scientific "breakthroughs" upon which great thinkers built their life's
work.

However, he would never make the comment you paraphrase. He really wasn't
interested in leading anybody anywhere. I think that attitude, as much as
anything else, is repsonsible for the fact that his work is not well known.

Judith