Post by Progenitor A on Mar 24, 2012 10:57:15 GMT 1
It should be quite surprising, but unfortunately it is not, that some self-admitted-well-educated people put forward examples of 'thought experiment' that are in fact self-evidently prime examples of exactly the opposite; thoughtlessness!
Such is an example I was reading elsewhere, where a piece of paper is folded to double its thickness some 58 times and the thickness then reaches many millions of miles (or km depending upon the original thickness of the paper)
OK, fine, you might imagine, not applying much thought to the subject!
But then someone who does think about things jumps in and says it is impossible - that it is simply not possible to fold a piece of paper (or anything else) that many times, so that the experiment does not work in practice (or theory), and there will be no piece of layered paper millions of miles thick
'Rubbish' is shouted at this person who has the temerity to think about thought experiments !
Of course the one who thought about it is quite correct and the 'experiment' is impossible and should be abandoned, and a better example sought
But no!
These 'educated' people then go into ridiculously wrong self-justificationary details to show that the experiment is possible , and anyway, (the clincher)what does it matter that the experiment is impossible as it is a 'thought experiment'
But what is the point of a 'thought experiment' that is , in principle quite wrong and will not yield the result that it seeks to demonstrate when any rigour of thought is applied?
Many 'thought experiments' or of this calibre - they are 'thoughtless experiments' rather than the antonym
Such is an example I was reading elsewhere, where a piece of paper is folded to double its thickness some 58 times and the thickness then reaches many millions of miles (or km depending upon the original thickness of the paper)
OK, fine, you might imagine, not applying much thought to the subject!
But then someone who does think about things jumps in and says it is impossible - that it is simply not possible to fold a piece of paper (or anything else) that many times, so that the experiment does not work in practice (or theory), and there will be no piece of layered paper millions of miles thick
'Rubbish' is shouted at this person who has the temerity to think about thought experiments !
Of course the one who thought about it is quite correct and the 'experiment' is impossible and should be abandoned, and a better example sought
But no!
These 'educated' people then go into ridiculously wrong self-justificationary details to show that the experiment is possible , and anyway, (the clincher)what does it matter that the experiment is impossible as it is a 'thought experiment'
But what is the point of a 'thought experiment' that is , in principle quite wrong and will not yield the result that it seeks to demonstrate when any rigour of thought is applied?
Many 'thought experiments' or of this calibre - they are 'thoughtless experiments' rather than the antonym