In the Beginning was Information

tricity (refuted by Copernicus), and phlogiston chemistry (disprovedby Lavoisier in 1774). It is hoped that this book will help touproot the current evolutionary paradigm.Speculation: When a statement is based purely on discussion, fantasy,imagination, or contemplation, and does not correspond toreality, it is speculation, or merely an intellectual game. Becauseno actual experimentation is involved, it is easy to make undiscoverablemistakes. In thought experiments difficulties can easily beevaded, undesirable aspects can be suppressed, and contradictionscan be deftly concealed. Thought experiments can probably raisequestions, but cannot answer any; only actual experimentationcan provide answers. In this sense the “hypercycle” proposed byManfred Eigen is pure speculation [G10, p 153 – 155]. Mere speculationwithout experimentation and observation is not science,neither is pure deduction from arbitrary presuppositions, nor is abiased selection of observations. Even the most abstract theoryshould not lose contact with reality and experimentation; it must beempirically verifiable 3 . Thought experiments as well as deductionsfrom philosophical postulates not based on observation, are speculations.Fiction (Latin fictio = fabrication, story): A fiction is either a deliberateor an unintentional fantasy which is not based on reality.Sometimes a false assumption (fiction) can be introduced deliberatelyfor the purpose of clarifying a scientific problem methodologically.3 Verification (Latin verus = true, facere = make):Verification means that a statementis tested experimentally. The result of such a verification is not generallyvalid, however. It holds strictly only for cases which have actually been confirmed,because the possibility that hitherto unknown counter examples may exist cannotbe excluded. If one contradictory case is found, then the statement is rejected (falsified!).This can also be expressed as follows: It is not possible to verify a theory;a theory can only be falsified. A theory is good if it could be falsified very easily,and when it survives all open criticisms and tests, it can be accepted.24