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Not even wrong
An apparently scientific argument is said to be "not even wrong" if it is based on theories that cannot be falsified or cannot be used to make predictions about the natural world.
The phrase was coined by the early theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli, who was known for his colorful objections to incorrect or sloppy thinking.[1] Rudolf Peierls writes:
a friend showed [Pauli] the paper of a young physicist which he suspected was not of great value but on which he wanted Pauli's views. Pauli remarked sadly, "It is not even wrong."
Statements that are "not even wrong" may be well-formed, but lack reference to anything physical (as in "Souls are immortal", because the noun "soul" is not well-defined in terms of experimental results), or may simply be gobbledygook which appears meaningless (as in some of the SubGenius writings). The phrase implies that even a wrong argument would have been better than the argument proposed, because an argument can only be found wrong after at least meeting the criteria for being considered academically (proper assumptions, falsifiable, makes predictions). Arguments that are not even wrong do not meet these criteria.
The phrase "not even wrong" is often used to describe pseudoscience or bad science and is considered derogatory.[3]
Wronger than wrong
Michael Shermer has called Wronger than wrong Asimov's Axiom, after the noted author Isaac Asimov, who discussed the issue in his book of essays, The Relativity of Wrong.[1] A statement that equates two errors is wronger than wrong when one of the errors is clearly wronger than the other. As Asimov put it:
"When people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together."
Something that is wronger than wrong is therefore more wrong than something that is not even wrong.](http://cdn07.dayviews.com/88/_u1/_u4/_u6/_u4/_u5/u146454/23809_1274219484/mera_underbart_fran_wikipedia_Not_even_wrong_An_apparently_scientific_argument_is_said_to_be_not.jpg)
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mera underbart från wikipedia
Not even wrong
An apparently scientific argument is said to be "not even wrong" if it is based on theories that cannot be falsified or cannot be used to make predictions about the natural world.
The phrase was coined by the early theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli, who was known for his colorful objections to incorrect or sloppy thinking.[1] Rudolf Peierls writes:
a friend showed [Pauli] the paper of a young physicist which he suspected was not of great value but on which he wanted Pauli's views. Pauli remarked sadly, "It is not even wrong."
Statements that are "not even wrong" may be well-formed, but lack reference to anything physical (as in "Souls are immortal", because the noun "soul" is not well-defined in terms of experimental results), or may simply be gobbledygook which appears meaningless (as in some of the SubGenius writings). The phrase implies that even a wrong argument would have been better than the argument proposed, because an argument can only be found wrong after at least meeting the criteria for being considered academically (proper assumptions, falsifiable, makes predictions). Arguments that are not even wrong do not meet these criteria.
The phrase "not even wrong" is often used to describe pseudoscience or bad science and is considered derogatory.[3]
Wronger than wrong
Michael Shermer has called Wronger than wrong Asimov's Axiom, after the noted author Isaac Asimov, who discussed the issue in his book of essays, The Relativity of Wrong.[1] A statement that equates two errors is wronger than wrong when one of the errors is clearly wronger than the other. As Asimov put it:
- "When people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together."
Something that is wronger than wrong is therefore more wrong than something that is not even wrong.
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Gobbledygook. Fantastiskt ord, hur har jag kunnat missa det i 20 långa år? Mitt liv har varit fattigt.
Godnatt! :)
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