• psycho_driver@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Well, from someone who studied electrical theory in a ‘normal’ university, the author isn’t completely off base in that we know what electricity is but not why electricity is.

    • shneancy@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      to be fair, we don’t know why anything is, but that’s something for philosophy so ponder, not science where you seek answers

    • pyre@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      science doesn’t determine why, it determines how to the best of our abilities. why implies purpose and/or intent, which isn’t something science measures.

      • dustyData@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        Oh we do measure why’s, that’s the point of social sciences. You just have to accept that purpose and intent don’t exist in a vacuum and are the result of human perception and expression then study it as such. As a human phenomenon. From philosophy to psychology, there’s a vast body of analysis on the why of many things. Cultural artifacts for example are the equivalent of batteries, where meaning is concentrated, captured and can be measured, studied and analysed.