[12 piece bucket]

____________________
The English word authority comes from the Latin word auctoritas which literally meant such things as “a producing”, “production”, “invention”, “cause”. Auctoritas in its turn came from auctor which meant “producer”, “father”, “progenitor”, “creator”, “maker”, “inventor”, “founder” and so on. In the English language, the Latin words auctor and auctoritas have become corrupted to “author” and “authority”.

In short: The auctor of a matter or thing is the one who made or established it, and also, the one who originally taught something.
________________________

On Science.... (a word that is as misused as 'centrifugal force')

There are three "ordinary" ways of gaining knowledge: chance, trial and error and generalization from experience. They are used by nearly everyone but none of them are "scientific". Some people are equiped with another method of gaining knowledge: logic... ability to reason things out. That is not scientific either. Going far beyond these elementary methods of gaining knowledge, even far beyond the method of logic (which Mr. Homer Kelly used) is a method of seeking truth we call research or scientific inquiry.

Science is a method of study by which, through careful and exhaustive investigation of all the ascertainable evidence bearing upon a definable problem, we reach a solution to that problem. Research.... SCIENCE is a instrument... a method that is only a few centruries old and seems today to be mankind's most reliable means of advancing knowledge.

On Appeal to 'Authority'...

Its human nature to rely upon authority. When tribes were attacked or experience flooding or plagues, people naturally wanted to know why... they went to the priests. The reliance on authority grew from the idea that great thinkers of the past were able to discover the truth. But history has shown great thinkers are almost alway proven wrong... eventually. A book is a snapshot of the generally accepted state of a body of knowledge at that time. The danger of reliance on "authority" as a basis for argument should be obvious. Its also one of the logical fallacies.

So then...

Are we endeavoring on a truth seeking venture of the scientific variety whereby all commonly accepted premises are subject to questioning... to scrutiny and yes possibly even rejection? Or are we involved in a modern-day sports oriented "priest-craft" where by any dissension... any evidence to the contrary... any questioning of the authority or the priests interpretation there-of leads one to be "put to the question"? So then... what exactly is the purpose of LBG... to advance knowledge or is it a mere personality cult.

Science can be a religion too. Modern science would not have been possible without the world view of "priests". I don't think it really is human nature in this world anyway -to rely upon "authority". Modern science sees man and reason as "autonomous". Many have a science god and have sacrificed unto him the very reason they seek to promote. So let's not be to quick to trot out the old cult deal.

Hope you had a nice Christmas Mandrin