The Apes—Points To Ponder

The problem of “the closed system”

It is usually the case that a scientific hypothesis is expressed in terms of cause and effect, in the sense that a particular action in a particular situation causes a particular result. The problem in proving such a hypothesis is that the scientist needs to design an experiment that eliminates all extraneous influences. A closed system needs to be created which includes only the relevant components. However, since the scientist cannot know everything that must be eliminated—since he is dealing to some extent with the unknown—it is difficult to be certain that an experimental design creates a genuinely closed system.

More to the point, the truth is that there are no fully closed systems. The only truly closed system in the universe is the universe itself and even that it a conceptual assumption. It is also worth noting that almost all the experiments that have been carried out since the dawn of science have been carried out on the planet Earth.

All, including those carried out in orbit around Earth or in its vicinity, are proven only in this locality. If there is some influencing factor in this locality that does not generally apply throughout the universe, then the generality of all of science is in question.

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