Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay
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I will respond to questions and comments as time permits, but if you want to take issuewith any position expressed here, you first have to answer this question:
What evidence would it take to prove your beliefs wrong?
I simply will not reply to challenges that do not address this question. Refutabilityis one of the classic determinants of whether a theory can be called scientific. Moreover,I have found it to be a great general-purpose cut-through-the-crap question to determinewhether somebody is interested in serious intellectual inquiry or just playing mind games.Note, by the way, that I am assuming the burden of proof here - all youhave to do is commit to a criterion for testing.It's easy to criticize science for being "closed-minded". Are you open-mindedenough to consider whether your ideas might be wrong?
Time: The Neolithic, 5000 years ago
Place: Mesopotamia
A metalsmith named Shadrach has just bartered a chicken for a couple of bits of copper. Suddenly, he has an inspiration. Instead of getting his copper in bits and pieces, why not get a lot at once? It comes from up in the mountains, so why not get a bunch of camels and donkeys, and helpers, and go up and get it? He'll need something to trade for it, of course, but if good cloth and nice pottery are as hard to get up there as copper is down here, both sides could make out famously.
Time: The Neolithic, a week later than 5000 years ago.
Place: A grubby village on the fringe of the foothills
Bad news. Strangers are coming. Lot of men and animals. But they don't look or act like soldiers or marauders. Finally a farmer named Malachi gathers up his courage and approaches the strangers. They're tight-lipped about what they're up to, but they assure him they mean no harm. In fact, their food and water are low, and it's after noon. Malachi has an inspiration. Stay at his place. He'll kill a goat, water the animals. Maybe the strangers have something in return? Next morning Malachi has a nice piece of cloth and some glass beads. Suddenly he's the richest, most important man in the village.
Time: The Neolithic, a month later than 5000 years ago.
Place: A grubby village on the fringe of the foothills
The strangers are back. This time Malachi is ready. He's got a nice shelter set up, the goat is roasting, and he gets a nice piece of copper for his trouble.
Time: The Neolithic, 4900 years ago.
Place: All over the Middle East
Malachi's and Shadrach's inspirations paid off. Caravans depart for all sorts of destinations. Every village has tradesmen to service them en route. Some villages came into existence for the express purpose of supplying caravans.
Savvy traders know where to stay and who's dependable. But if they travel someplace new, or the owner dies, it's a crap shoot. Maybe the owner dies and his son takes over. Sometimes things get better. More often, they don't. Sometimes the food is good, other times it smells like the caravan intercepted a meal meant for the pigs. Sometimes service is quick, more often it's lackadaisical.
Time: 1948
Place, San Bernardino, California
The United States is a nation on wheels. People depart for all sorts of destinations. Every village has tradesmen to service them en route. Some villages came into existence for the express purpose of supplying auto travelers.
Savvy travelers know where to stay and who's dependable. But if they travel someplace new, or the owner dies or sells the place, it's a crap shoot. Maybe the owner dies and his son takes over. Sometimes things get better. More often, they don't. Sometimes the food is good, other times it smells like the customer intercepted a meal meant for the pigs. Sometimes service is quick, more often it's lackadaisical.
Then two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald introduce the "Speedee Service System," revolving around fast service, standard offerings, and
Six decades later, McDonald's is widely reviled as a symbol of everything wrong with American culture.
Nobody asks the question: Why did it take almost 5000 years for somebody to think of offering customers quick service and dependable content?
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Created 14 July 2008; Last Update 24 May, 2020
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