Avocados, Abstract Ideas, and Categories I plan to have friends over this evening and will go to the market this afternoon to find some ripe avocadoes. Selecting avocadoes that can be served immediately is a difficult task. Ripe avocado is a literal idea and science is an abstract idea. An abstract idea is a complex neural network consisting of literal concepts and other abstract concepts. Is psychology a science? It all depends upon how you categorize science. If the natural sciences are the only sciences then psychology would not be a science. If the social sciences are science then psychology is a science. If human sciences are a science then psychology is a science. Where does one go for authority for such matters? I suggest that you go to the philosophy of science for your answer. Wiki advises me that philosophy of science studies the assumptions, foundations, and implications of all domains of knowledge that seek to be included within those prestigious halls of science. This includes both the natural and human sciences. “In this respect, the philosophy of science is closely related to epistemology and metaphysics.” Robert Schenk tries to answer the question ‘Is economics a science?’ in a copyright article at: http://ingrimayne.com/econ/Introduction/Overview1.html In this article Schenk recognizes that this question has been argued for over a century without a clear winner. He further argues that to provide a legitimate answer to this question about economics that one must have the ability to answer such questions as: What does "invisible hand" mean, what was Malthus opinion regarding population growth, what was Poppers judgment regarding this question, and what does scarcity, choice, and self-interest mean to economics. I started this search under the assumption that I could give good evidence to support a clear necessary and sufficient condition for any domain of knowledge to be judged a science. After searching Google and scratching my head I have decided that the question “What is science?” is, in fact, a value judgment. Is value an abstract idea? Is this question “what is science?” a matter of fact or a matter of value judgment?
Three good sized avocadoes, mash with a fork so as to leave a little texture. Grind up with mortar and pestle at least three good sized cloves of garlic, a teaspoon of the best cummin seeds you can find, a bit of black pepper and a ball tearing chillie. Touch of salt but don't overdo it, good squeeze of lime ( fresh!!), chopped coriander( cilantro). Mix. Extra coriander and chillie for presentation and maybe a good splash of tabasco if it's your thing. Science of flavour. Sorry Coberst, I had nowhere else to go.
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That's a formula for Tex-Mex guacamole, not authentic guacamole. The Texans seem to think the only important ingredient in food is capsaicin. They make their faux "Mexican" dishes much hotter than Mexicans ever would. They also make their meat dishes with beef instead of pork or goat (which is delicious and tender), but that's a different subject. Cut WAY back on the garlic and WAY WAY back on the chiles. This stuff is supposed to taste like avocado, not pure seasoning! Add onion and tomato. Use more salt if you want, avocados generally need quite a bit of the stuff. A little mayo is perfectly acceptable if you like a smoother flavor or texture, Mexicans buy gallons of mayonnaise. Cumin and cilantro are okay although I personally hate cilantro. Epazote is a fabulous herb for this recipe. Now that's the way to make real Mexican guacamole. You can put leftovers in a baggie. Make sure there is no air whipped into the guacamole and then cover the surface with more lime juice, or even lemon juice, and then try to suck all the air out of the bag before sealing it tightly. This will keep it from turning brown and icky for a few days. You can also freeze it. Sure the texture may not be quite perfect after thawing but the flavor will still be great, and it won't turn brown and icky. Add some more fresh onion and/or tomato to spruce it up and nobody will notice.
The word means what we say it means. The meaning of all words is a value judgment, nothing special about science. The heart of science is the scientific method. Any endeavor which is incapable of applying the scientific method, or which is show to be comprised of false assumptions by application of the scientific method, is not a science. Please note that I say the entire endeavor (field of investigation) must be incapable of fully applying the scientific method. With some sciences, few experiments are possible, but a few is enough to make the study a science. I personally think diagnostic medicine is more art than science, but there is science involved.
We'll have to disagree on that Fraggle, 3 cloves of garlic is bare minimum for anything for me. Many of mine and the Spud Empress's dishes have a whole bulb of garlic. The chillie is about right for me too. ( I make my salsa with harbaneroes). I agree with the tomatoes and onion, yum! It still tastes plenty avocadoey for me but too much salt would kill that quick smart. Again, personal taste comes in here, we hardly ever use salt in cooking. Salt and pepper fish being a big exception. Avocadoes are wonderful, I'll often spread it on toast (rye) as a substitute for butter and throw on a few tomatoes and black pepper. Simple and delicious.
Science is observation, the rest is philosophy. I like the way blue danish or stilton gets observed by my taste-buds.
Meaning comes in two forms. There is the definition or meaning of a word that we find in the dictionary. This meaning is based upon what we consciously have decided the essence of the cocept is. Then there is that which is unconsciously and consciously determined to be meaningful to me. That which is meaningful for me is that in which I am in the picture. When I create something meaningful I am creating a concept that includes me. When I study a painting if I really “get-into what the artist is “saying” I am making that painting meaningful for me. When I empathesize with another person I am trying to make that person meaningful to me. Meaning is not an object but is a concept created by the individual. Meaningfulness is created in certain kinds of experiences in certain kinds of environments. Meaning is subjective. When many others share that same feeling then one might say that the meaning is “objective”. Iraq becomes very meaningful for me if my grandson goes into the army. Meaning is a creation of the individual. That which is meaningful certainly would not be considered objective in any form that I would understand. I would say that objectivity is shared subjectivity.
Some might, I wouldn’t. I would say the meaning of words is always subjective. The symbols only carry the meaning we attach to them. When two or more individuals attach the same meaning to particular symbols, we have language. In the case of words, the meaning only has value if there is common or mutual understanding. It is not this way with your grandson’s experiences. When everyone in a group agrees on the matter at hand, they generally determine it to be an objective perspective. Whether they are all right, or all incorrect, is another matter.
View science as methods to be employed. Not so concrete. If you change views/opinions...someone may like the notion and make something of it...not necessarily for U. Kickback, relax and enjoy the ride. Science of yore is not all lost. Although the demand at simple mechanics was great in the Industrial Revolution, look now at energy yields. Where, many smaller devices tend to produce more than Ox driven churns/grinders than at that time. Yes, it's true. Where once animals were beasts of burden, the are now more companions and other sourcings. This fabble babble of whether or not their is vindication is questions, is not easily answered. You see, ask indefinite, the NULL is achieved, by your absence. Think I'll take my leave. That's a joke, ya' kno'.
