Q and A with Dr. Ryerson #2
Dear Dr. Ryerson,
You say that you've "observed" lots of dragons, but why should we believe you? Neither me, my friends, or anyone else I know has seen a dragon, so how the h-e-double-hockey-stick do I know you aren't just making this crazy stuff up?
Thanks,
Durf Haddaway
12 yrs old
Memphis, Tennessee
Dear Durf,
Good question. Excellent question. I can see you're the type of lad who asks great questions, and will go on to ask many more great questions in your later years.
You make a good point. Why should you believe me when you haven't seen dragons for yourself?
You see, Durf, in the study of science, there are two types of people. One group is called "laypeople," and other group is called "experts." It so happens that, having never observed dragons in a scientific manner, you qualify as a layperson. However, I, having earned my degree in dragonology long ago, having attended many conferences on the topic, and having made many field observations of real dragons, would qualify as an expert (on dragons specifically).
Here is how you, a layperson, are supposed to interpret scientific knowledge, or knowledge from an expert like me:
Step 1: Listen to what I say.
Step 2: Accept what I say at face value, unless I am making a joke, at which point it will be appropriate to laugh and not take what I say at face value (but only for the duration of the joke).
Step 3: Keep believing what I say until you find evidence, within your own experience (i.e. dragonology fieldwork, studying dragons for many years) that tells you otherwise (this is unlikely). In science, this is what we call "falsifiability." If you observe something about dragons that seems to contradict what I have said about them, then either 1) you are wrong, 2) you are mistaken, or 3) you may have made an error in judgment.
Basically, you just have accept wholeheartedly what I say as truth *for now* until you have observations that suggest otherwise. Much like the legal system in the United States, all of my theories are innocent until proven guilty (or true until proven false).
Hope this helps!
VR
|
