Discussion on Poppers and Sobers View of Simplicity Essays

Discussion on Poppers and Sobers View of Simplicity Essays Discussion on Poppers and Sobers View of Simplicity Essay Discussion on Poppers and Sobers View of Simplicity Essay Essay Topic: Discussion Poppers theory of simplicity is directly derived from his Falsification theory. To illustrate this we can say that; it is true that Popper decreed that the more falsifiable a theory was; the better the theory is, and the better it will be received. If this is true; it is then is stated that the degree that a theory is falsifiable should track the degree to which a theory is simple; so if this were to be true should then prefer the theories that are highly simple (and falsifiability). So if we were to place this Im a real life scientific setting we could say that; i) parrots are feathery or ii) all birds are feathery. Now according to Popper ii) would be a better theory in terms of falsifiability and in terms of simplicity, as; it is falsified by more types of findings, could be falsified by any sighting of a non feathery bird; and it is more simple as a parrot is less simple, as it is much more specific, than birds in general. In terms of the merits of Poppers theory, in a perfect Popperian world this theory of simplicity would make life for scientists quite easy as it is a part of his theory of falsification. Further more his description and application of simplicity makes a great deal of sense, in terms of relation to parts of falsification which are part of the modern scientific process, as complicated and convoluted are usually quite difficult to debunk (falsify). However, take this illustration of a mathematical equation representing a scientific theory, adapted from Post (1969); we have theory a), which represents a linear relationship: y = 1. 5 2x; whilst according to theory b) y = 1. 5 2x + 0. 32. Now according to Poppers falsifiability criteria of determining simplicity; the two theories of are equally as simple (since each can only be falsified by one occurrence). This leads to an automatic counter-intuitive result, which leaves the theory high and dry, as they are clearly not at the same level of simplicity. Sobers view on simplicity goes something like the following; instead of, unlike most who have tackled simplicity, relating simplicity to the correctness of a given theory, sober makes an attempt to relate simplicity to the informativeness of a theory. So what this essentially means for the premise of a simplicistic theory, is that simplicity should be concerned with how much information a theory or phenomena gives us in relation to how many laws, or premises, we begin with. To illustrate this better it may be more prudent to discuss Sobers theory in relation to inputs outputs; therefor simpler theories would produce more outputs in relation to the inputs. Furthermore, a more specific definition of Sobers argument is that the simplest theory may be the most informative one. Sobers theory, to me, is quite bold and, excuse the pun, a very simple way of determining the simplicity of a scientific theory. Unlike Popper and Quinean philosophy, Sober theory seems to give simplictity a greater level of importance, as science is all about gaining information which this theory draws it wisdom from. However, the theory runs into problems quite early on. One major problem concerning Sobers theory is that he tries to relate simplicity on a wider ontological level; which leaves me wondering; if we were use the theory that gives the most information, even if it was false, we would be in the position of having to accept it, and then gaining useless knowledge. If we were to assume that the problems that each theory faces never occurred, the theoretical virtue of Sobers simplicity, is that simplicity is directly influenced by the amount of information a theory has put into it, and outputted from it. Poppers theoretical virtue is the simplest theory is better, as a simple theory is easier to debunk and increases its falsifiability (as it doesnt possess any ad hoc escape routes). Personally I am more greatly drawn towards Sobers take on simplicity, as science is directly concern with the pursuit of knowledge, meaning that his criteria which determines whether a theory if simple or not is more logical. I feel that Popper, whilst does a good job of keeping the his theories in unity, necessarily approach the problem correctly whilst falsification seems to a vital piece of good scientific methodology, I cant quite see the connect between it and simplicity.

Subordination with Adjective Clauses

Subordination with Adjective Clauses In English grammar,  coordination is a useful way of connecting ideas that are roughly equal in importance. But often we need to show that one idea in a sentence is more important than another. On these occasions, we use subordination to indicate that one part of a sentence is secondary (or subordinate) to another part. One common form of subordination is the adjective clause  (also called a relative clause)a word group that modifies a noun. Lets look at ways to create and punctuate adjective clauses. Creating Adjective Clauses Consider how the following two sentences might be combined: My father is a superstitious man.He always sets his unicorn traps at night. One option is to coordinate the two sentences: My father is a superstitious man, and he always sets his unicorn traps at night. When sentences are coordinated in this way, each main clause is given equal emphasis. But what if we want to place greater emphasis on one statement than on another? We then have the option of reducing the less important statement to an adjective clause. For example, to emphasize that father sets his unicorn traps at night, we can turn the first main clause into an adjective clause: My father, who is a superstitious man, always sets his unicorn traps at night. As shown here, the adjective clause does the job of an adjective and follows the noun that it modifiesfather. Like a main clause, an adjective clause contains a subject (in this case, who) and a verb (is). But unlike a main clause an adjective clause cant stand alone: it has to follow a noun in a main clause. For this reason, an adjective clause is considered to be subordinate to the main clause. For practice in creating adjective clauses, try some exercises in Sentence Building With Adjective Clauses.   Identifying Adjective Clauses The most common adjective clauses begin with one of these relative pronouns: who, which, and that. All three pronouns refer to a noun, but who refers only to people and which refers only to things. That may refer to either people or things. The following sentences show how these pronouns are used to begin adjective clauses: Mr. Clean, who hates rock music, smashed my electric guitar.Mr. Clean smashed my electric guitar, which had been a gift from Vera.Mr. Clean smashed the electric guitar that Vera had given me. In the first sentence, the relative pronoun who refers to Mr. Clean, the subject of the main clause. In the second and third sentences, the relative pronouns which and that refer to guitar, the object of the main clause. Punctuating Adjective Clauses These three guidelines will help you decide when to set off an adjective clause with commas: Adjective clauses beginning with that are never set off from the main clause with commas. Food that has turned green in the refrigerator should be thrown away.Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should not be set off with commas if omitting the clause would change the basic meaning of the sentence. Students who turn green should be sent to the infirmary. Because we dont mean that all students should be sent to the infirmary, the adjective clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. For this reason, we dont set off the adjective clause with commas.Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should be set off with commas if omitting the clause would not change the basic meaning of the sentence. Last weeks pudding, which has turned green in the refrigerator, should be thrown away. Here the which clause provides added, but not essential, information, and so we set it off from the rest of the sentence with commas. Now, if youre ready for a short punctuation exercise, see  Practice in Punctuating Adjective Clauses.