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1,232 bytes added ,  05:46, November 13, 2009
→‎Falsifiability: Their existence isn't falsifiable, but their possibility is
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:::Incidentally, Popper cited Einstein's theories as exemplars of rigorously falsifiable science when he constructed his criterion. He wrote about it in contrast to the quote-unquote "scientific" theories of Marx. By a happy coincidence, the very same theories of Einstein's that Popper found so admirable are the ones we're talking about here. So can you ''please,'' and I'm asking for the third time now, clarify just exactly what your gripe is?--[[User:KSorenson|KSorenson]] 00:36, 13 November 2009 (EST)
 
:::Incidentally, Popper cited Einstein's theories as exemplars of rigorously falsifiable science when he constructed his criterion. He wrote about it in contrast to the quote-unquote "scientific" theories of Marx. By a happy coincidence, the very same theories of Einstein's that Popper found so admirable are the ones we're talking about here. So can you ''please,'' and I'm asking for the third time now, clarify just exactly what your gripe is?--[[User:KSorenson|KSorenson]] 00:36, 13 November 2009 (EST)
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:::::Hello; I'm the user who edited this article after KSorenson.  If I may jump in to this heated discussion going on at at least [[User_Talk:KSorenson|two places]] :  I think what Andy's saying is that black holes themselves can never be proven to not exist, because (by definition) no one can see them or visit them and return.  I think what KSorenson's saying is that [[general relativity]] states black holes are possible, and that general relativity can be falsified (e.g. by sending probes to probe the earth's gravitational field).
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:::::Of course, just because general relativity hasn't been ''disproven'' doesn't mean that it's been proven.  There could be a better theory which accounts for all the gravity-probe data and states that black holes don't exist.  We don't know yet; that's the wonder of science:  God's always put more out there for us to discover!  So, we don't know that black holes do exist - that claim isn't falsifiable; we'd need to survey every square millimeter of space and say "there isn't a black hole ''here''!".  But, the theory that states they ''can'' exist is falsifiable.  I tried to reflect this dichotomy in my edits to this article. -- [[User:EvanW|EvanW]] 00:46, 13 November 2009 (EST)
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