Grey Swans and Paradigm shifts

I have posted on edline an article from New Scientist (one of the best respectable resources for TOK ideas). It is from May 2008 and the title of the article is "Some swans are Grey". Incredibly (perhaps?) I found the article in a chance glance at the front cover of the journal as I returned the projector to Bryans room today, straight from TOK. Serendipity!! Well, true serendipity required some action.
We talked Thurs and today about the current paradigm of thought being science based and science more than any disipline is defined by its methodology. I mentioned tipping points in both classes and speculated where the new shift of ideas might come from. Well the article in new scientist claims that "Poppers definition of science is being sorely tested by the emergence of scientific ideas which seem to fail it" "it " being, of course, falsification. The article then goes on to cite Colin Howson of LSE in London promoting "an alternative view of science based not on simplistic true/false logic, but on the far more subtle concept of degrees of belief" Essentially a mix of mathematical probability and the" subjective concept of belief". If you want to research this its called the Bayensian view of science, after Thomas Bayes the mathematician (18th c). Its pretty interesting and gives us now 4 views about how science methodologies exist. I hope you can remember the other 3?

Reasoning creates knowledge issues - I believe there were plenty of debatable syllogisms in class, the powerpoint is on edline if you wish to check out the premises/ argument/ conclusions presented again. As always thank you for the engaging, intelligent contributions. Special note to Kuba for introducing a new "freedom of thinking" model - Check it on his blog!

Please remember syllogisms are arguments set up to show deductive reasoning but demonstrate issues/problems that illustrate the occurence of inductive fallacies. Therefore exposing the two types of logic we examined this week.