7 and String Theory Questions

1. When does theory become fact?

The line is actually blurred according to some, as some people consider facts to be influenced in one way or another by theory. I am somewhat confused, but from what I understand, 'theory' is used to explain 'facts', and is more of the reasoning behind these facts, and not necessarily 'scientific facts' themselves.

2. What is the difference between philosophy and theory?

Again, I don't have a clear idea, and after some research, I believe that theory is an explanation based on logic or mathematical calculations of scientific facts, that can either be tested using the scientific method or through observations.
The definition of philosophy is highly debated, and this explanation may not be the perfect one. Philosophy is more of a method, rather than the actual results. The method is based on rational thinking.

3. When will string theory be a religion?

Well, as far as I know, religion is very hard to define, and is quite subjective. You can get a very general definition, in which string theory is already a religion (then again, so would most scientific theories), in which it is a group of people holding a same group of beliefs; or believing in a set of doctrine that governs our lives. Otherwise, you would go into more stringent definitions, which involves deities, and those that are sacred, or divine, or spiritual. Now, if you used that definition, string theory would very likely not become a religion.


Blog 7

Today I switched from Spanish 9 to Japanese 10, because I just felt that learning Japanese would probably be more important to me now than Spanish. Well, anyways, it turns out my teacher and I had a lot to talk about. She lived in Yokohama, a little bit north of where I lived, but she was there from 2000-2001, where she taught at one of the best public schools in the city. Then, she got fired, due to cuts across the board, and came here. Well, I stayed in Yokohama for the summers of 2002-4, and so we had quite a bit to talk about, particularly the development in Minato Mirai 21, or whatever its called.
Quite a pleasant surprise, except now I have to copy 15 pages of 5 hiragana characters.