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ghorwood↙↙↙

@SmudgeTheInsultCat i graduated in the eighties and was *still* taught the rutherford model of the atom, so...

10 Aug 2023 at 16:49 | Wall-to-wall | Open on mastodon.social
5 comments
Matt Welke

@ghorwood @SmudgeTheInsultCat I was in a Canadian high school chemistry class around 2007ish and I remember the teacher telling us when we got to that model in the curriculum that was already considered out of date but it was useful as a teaching tool. That was pretty cool.

11 Aug 2023 at 22:14 | Open on mstdn.ca
Carl

@ghorwood
<rant>
Models are just that, models. They serve to explain a phenomenon you observed. The Rutherford Model does that.
Scientific models do not claim "truth" or "reality". Those two are a job for theologicians or, preferably, philosophs, not for scientists.
The Rutherford Model cannot explain all phenomena around atoms, so we needed more refined or other models.
You could describe Science as a continuous refinement/change of models, no more, no less.
</rant>
@SmudgeTheInsultCat

13 Aug 2023 at 4:43 | Open on chaos.social
ghorwood↙↙↙

@carl @SmudgeTheInsultCat the ptolemaic system of the planets explains the observed phenomena.

13 Aug 2023 at 5:00 | Open on mastodon.social
Carl

@ghorwood But not all that are observable these days! So, a more refined model of planet movements has been put in place. That happened a couple of times since then. Repeat ad nauseam. @SmudgeTheInsultCat

13 Aug 2023 at 5:19 | Open on chaos.social
Dominic

@carl @ghorwood I recall being taught a new model year after year for multiple topics - with a "but that was incomplete" sort of intro. What I don't recall is any teachers being upfront about such models being incomplete while teaching them, which still annoys me today.

13 Aug 2023 at 17:20 | Open on tech.lgbt
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