What is the Relativity of Wrong?

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The discussion centers on Isaac Asimov's essay "The Relativity of Wrong," which explores the concept of varying degrees of wrongness in scientific theories. Participants debate whether this idea aligns with any established scientific paradigm, with some suggesting it resembles Bayesian Epistemology. The conversation highlights the tension between the notion of "less-and-less wrong" and the principles of falsifiability in science. There is a consensus that the essay leans more towards philosophical discourse rather than strict scientific methodology. The thread concludes with a suggestion to close the discussion due to its philosophical nature.
FallenApple
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I read the essay. It's a very interesting account of scientific progress. What type of scientific paradigm is this? It seems to have a very close feel to Bayesian Epistemology and/or Inference

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In the title essay, Asimov argues that there exist degrees of wrongness, and being wrong in one way is not necessarily as bad as being wrong in another way.
https://chem.tufts.edu/answersinscience/relativityofwrong.htm
 
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FallenApple said:
What type of scientific paradigm is this?
As far as I know it's no paradigm. It is just an essay, where the 'better-and-better' is displayed in inverse manner.

The 'less-and-less wrong' kind of indicates the existence of something 'finally it's no longer wrong' type of TRUTH. But any such truth would have serious problems with falsification, therefore it cannot be considered scientific any longer. Thus, the 'less-and-less wrong' is not really used seriously. What kind of science would tolerate a non-scientific target?
 
Rive said:
But any such truth would have serious problems with falsification, therefore it cannot be considered scientific any longer.
I think this is a misunderstanding. Not being falsified doesn’t mean that you have a problem with falsification.
 
I agree with Dale. There's a difference between not capable of being falsified versus accurate enough to say that it's not false.
 
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As this essay is really about the philosophy of science and we don't discuss philosophical issues here at PF. I say its time to close this thread.

Thank you all for contributing here.

Jedi
 
MOVING CLOCKS In this section, we show that clocks moving at high speeds run slowly. We construct a clock, called a light clock, using a stick of proper lenght ##L_0##, and two mirrors. The two mirrors face each other, and a pulse of light bounces back and forth betweem them. Each time the light pulse strikes one of the mirrors, say the lower mirror, the clock is said to tick. Between successive ticks the light pulse travels a distance ##2L_0## in the proper reference of frame of the clock...

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