Was Tartan ever actually banned?

[macwilkin]

Traditions like Kirkin of the tartan, Burns Dinner, Dipping the edge of a new kilt into scotch, and other new and old TRADITIONS, have to start somewhere

No one is disputing that, Mark. The issue is that many groups, games, etc. are promoting a history of the Kirkin' service that simply has no basis in the historical record. As I mentioned earlier, the real history of the service, which was first held at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church during the Second World War, is far more moving than the legend that has grown-up in the Diaspora communities in Canada, the USA and Australia. The Rev. Dr. Peter Marshall ("A Man Called Peter"), a Presbyterian minister from Coatbridge, is credited with being the originator of the service. I have of sermons from the original Kirkin', and no where does Dr. Marshall mention "the legend".

I have organized our society's Kirkin' for over a decade now, and I try to make it as close to Dr. Marshall's original intent as possible.

T.

[xman]

Thanks for setting me straight gents.

[Bugbear]

Untestable Hypothesis and Falsifiability - The Scientific Method has some five key steps to it...
1. Observation/Question
2. Hypothesis
3. Prediction
4. Experiment
5. Conclusion

One of the toughest parts of the Scientific Method is simply determining whether it's possible to design an experiment to test your hypothesis. If it IS possible to test it, and there are clear conditions for what counts as refuting your hypothesis, the hypothesis is called falsifiable, and this is a good thing in science. "Falsifiable" means the same thing as "testable," it doesn't mean "proven false." Yeah, it's confusing. So some examples may help.

Hypothesis: There are NO black swans.
Test: Look for a black swan.
Falsifiable? Yes
Potential Falsification: Finding a black swan.
Truth Status: False (there are black swans).

Hypothesis: There are pink elephants.
Test: Look for a pink elephant.
Falsifiable? No
Potential Falsification: None. If you looked around the whole world, maybe it was hiding in Japan while you were in New Zealand. If you saw the whole world simultaneously, maybe it's on Mars. Or another solar system. It's impossible to actually carry out the test.

Hypothesis: The First Kirkin of the tartan was done in the USA.
Test: Look for evidence that there was never one done before
Falsifiable? No
Potential Falsification: None. If you look at every possible source there is still a chance it happened but was not recorded

Truth Status: So far it appears false, but we're not sure. The statment "there is no such thing as a pink elephant" is a good example of something that a non-scientist would call a fact but scientists would say is unproven.

Kilted-Marine, that copied text should have been cited or a link provided.

http://modern-science.blogspot.com/2...hesis-and.html

No one is disputing that, Mark. The issue is that many groups, games, etc. are promoting a history of the Kirkin' service that simply has no basis in the historical record. As I mentioned earlier, the real history of the service, which was first held at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church during the Second World War, is far more moving than the legend that has grown-up in the Diaspora communities in Canada, the USA and Australia. The Rev. Dr. Peter Marshall ("A Man Called Peter"), a Presbyterian minister from Coatbridge, is credited with being the originator of the service. I have of sermons from the original Kirkin', and no where does Dr. Marshall mention "the legend".

I have organized our society's Kirkin' for over a decade now, and I try to make it as close to Dr. Marshall's original intent as possible.

T.

cajunscot is saying that there is no known, peer reviewed evidence that it happened. It is, in that case, unlikely that the tradition came from the Proscription era. He also cited other evidence that made it even more unlikely.

He asked for credible evidence. If it were provided, and it was credible, I am sure he would reverse his position.

That's my take on this discussion. Hope I haven't made anyone angry. I'll bow out of the thread now.