We are reasonably justified in asserting that alcohol has a causal influence on behavior, even without understanding the exact and complex mechanisms by which it influences the nervous system.
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Replying to @Scientific_Bird
People had been using aspirin for millennia without knowing its mechanism of action. In 1971, John Vane figured out how aspirin worked, later got a Nobel for it. https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/infographics/a-history-of-aspirin/20066661.article …pic.twitter.com/9t1DoeO9qf
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Replying to @GarettJones
Thanks a lot for this. I am compiling a list of good examples :)
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Replying to @Scientific_Bird @GarettJones
Newton was unable to explain the mechanism behind is law of universal gravitation (in fact, his inability to do so was something which his Cartesian opponents attacked him for).
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When he first proposed the idea of continental drift, Wegener was unable to specify the mechanism by which continents drifted (something ever more problematic for the fact this seemed to suggest an absurdity - that continents could drift through 1000s kms of rock).
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It would take until the 1960s for a mechanism to be identified in the form of convection currents beneath the crust.
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Bohr was unable to explain why electrons in orbit around a nucleus cannot collapse any closer towards the nucleus than the lowest energy level - he simply stipulated it ad hoc.
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Scurvy and fruits is another one like this. This one is kind of friendly to their position because it shows the trouble one can get in without detailed knowledge of the causal mechanism. https://idlewords.com/2010/03/scott_and_scurvy.htm …
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Fascinating read that - thanks!
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