Re: The Unknown and the Unknowable

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@YAHOO.COM>]

Since the unknown is the influence of humans on the

environment, should we take the more conservative

course and act as if we do have a large effect on the

environment or not?  



Of course, the same applies to the question of

controling low doses of ionizing radiation. What is

the best course of action?



I know, we will further our scientific studies.  The

other choice is to let politicians decide legislation

based on limited knowledged, and those lobbists who

pay the most.



(Just another cynical day around the D.C. Beltway.)



--- maury <maury@webtexas.com> wrote:

> You have done a beautiful job of presenting an

> excellent concept paper

> applicable to two seemingly unrelated topics. Your

> distinction: "The

> trick is to distinguish the unknown from the

> unknowable ...." seems so

> obvious after you have stated it. Yet the

> distinction is commonly

> overlooked if not deliberately ignored!

> 

> Thanks for yanking the reality chain,

> Maury     maury@webtexas.com

> _______

> PP=PPP

> ===============================

> Jerry Cohen wrote:

> 

> >      There are similarities between two seemingly

> unrelated issues

> > currently under discussion. These are the LNT

> hypothesis, and global

> > climate change.    Both involve scientific vs.

> > morality/ethics/religion considerations as

> encompassed in the

> > "precautionary principal". A perhaps more

> important similarity is the

> > fact that both involve factors that are not only

> unknown, but

> > unknowable. Science thrives on resolving

> uncertainties and bringing

> > previously unknown facts to light, but we cannot

> do much with the

> > unknowable. To trick is to distinguish the unknown

> from the unknowable

> > so that resources are not wasted trying to gain an

> understanding of

> > things inevitably beyond our comprehension.    We

> know, for example,

> > that the planet has existed and major climate

> changes  have occurred

> > for millions of years---well before humans came on

> the scene. The

> > earth has experienced

> > -----------  snipped  -------------------

> . . .



=====

-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com



__________________________________

Do you Yahoo!?

Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software

http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com

************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.

You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/