The scientific method is based on a logical fallacy

I'm going to reveal science's dirty little secret. The scientific method is based on a logical fallacy.In the thread entitled Creationism IS a 'Cult'ural Movement!, schrafinator quotes wiki's description of the scientific method, a passable description for my purposes. One of the key defining characteristics of the scientific method is prediction. The more predictions that a scientific theory makes that are borne out, the more reliable the theory is.There is a logical fallacy called affirming the consequence. It goes like this:Premise 1 If A, then B
Premise 2 B.
Conclusion Therefore A.An example of this form would be the following:If it's raining then the roof is wet.
The roof is wet.
Therefore it's raining.This fallacy is central to the scientific method. Hypotheses are supported by arguments of this exact form.If there is gravity then when I drop this ball it will fall.
A dropped ball is observed to fall.
Therefore there is gravity.Just thought I'd give the creos a little ammunition for their arguments since this place seems to have gotten a bit slow lately.Cheers!

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Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin FranklinWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

The problem I describe comes in the testing of the prediction. As you describe it, the prediction about rain making the roof wet can be directly observed, and thus (apparently) confirmed. However, not all predictions can be directly observed in this way. Take another example:Observation: Marsupials are the dominant form of mammalian life in Australia, but relatively rare elsewhere in the world.
Hypothesis: Marsupials became isolated on Australia from other forms of mammalian life when the land masses drifted apart.
Prediction: Fossilized marsupials will be found on Antarctica.The logical structure of this prediction and its confirmation is as follows:If marsupials became isolated on Australia from other forms of mammalian life when the land masses drifted apart, then fossilized marsupials will be found on Antarctica.Fossilized marsupials have been found on Antarctica.This was trumpeted as confirmation of the hypothesis. However, because we cannot go back in time and directly observe the migration, we are forced to rely on affirming the consequence for the force of the argument.

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Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin FranklinWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

I'm quite interested to see what other people here do with this. Is it Science? is where I suppose it should go.

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Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin FranklinWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

Reminds me of an experiment my cousin Sven did a few years ago.He took a frog and taught it to yump on command. Den he tell the frog to yump and measure how far it yump. Dat vas four feet. Den he cut off one of da frog's legs and tell it to yump again. It only yump tree feet. Den he cut off another frog leg and tell it to yump. It only yump two feet. Den he cut off a tird frog leg and tell it to yump. It yump yust one foot. Den he cut off da last leg and tell frog to yump.Noting happen.He tell frog to yump again. Again noting happen.He got very excited and wrote in his yournal:"Vit four legs, frog yump four feet. Vit tree legs, frog yump tree feet. Vit two legs, frog yump two feet. Vit one leg, frog yump one foot....Vit no legs, frog goes deaf."Edited by subbie, : No reason given.

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Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin FranklinWe see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat