(July 9, 2017 at 12:37 pm)Lek Wrote:That which cannot be verified cannot be usefully discussed as it hasn't exited the realm of hearsay and speculation. It's not irrelevant, as it might be worth pursuing further study of to gain more facts, but in the meantime, it's not actionable, either. For example, we don't know what dark matter is or even if it exists for sure. It's a hypothesis at this point, we have some evidence pointing to it, some against. It's not irrelevant, in fact it's a subject of keen interest, but we are reduced to speculation (educated or otherwise) until we know more.(July 9, 2017 at 12:31 pm)Astonished Wrote: Agreed, if it's beyond the ability of science to test or verify, it's utterly irrelevant and no one can pretend they know anything about it because the only mechanism which we know of to go about finding out things is unable to be utilized. It's when people pretend to know it exists, know its attributes, and yet can't say HOW they know this, that we've got problems. Unfortunately that's exactly how everyone behaves when it comes to that type of unknown woo.
Why is it irrelevant if science is unable to test or verify it?
Dark matter is an example where you at least have a falsifiable, scientifically valid hypothesis to work with and test. Invisible beings and realms / the spiritual / the supernatural are all unfalsifiable concepts that no one can make credible knowledge claims for or against. They are just asserted without evidence, and so are dismissible without evidence.
