[lit-ideas] Re: Scientific Method Dead! Postmodernism Not the Villain! Could it be?

John: A less apocalyptic perspective, that of General Systems Theory, suggests that the mechanical or statistical models produced by conventional scientific research apply to only a limited set of phenomena--most of what we'd like to know falling into the far larger zone of complexity in which such models fail. New tools like Amazon's algorithms may make it possible to manage complexity with no need for explanation or empathy to understand the patterns that ebb and flow as the data stream pours in.
Carl Jung noted that when Victorian science drove Spirit out of matter, matter became spiritualized instead. Some questions: 

*Who writes the algorithms?
*If the algorithms are tools, who uses the tools?
General Systems Theory, at least as expressed by thinkers like Ken Wilbur, might equally suggest that the scientific method is not dead, but, as with all evolving holons, has merely achieved a greater level of complexity and self-organization.
I spoke with a computer scientist several years ago. He had a very low impression of both "information ontology" and AI. He referred to heuristics as "mere tricks." After all, somebody has to write the code, and the universe will always leak through the code. The universe will always leak through the code because it is smarter than we are. 


Best,
Eric
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