It was a reference to a quote by Plato that all could be deduced from an armchair. Some people believe this to be false and felt that sophisticated tests and measurements are required to determine all, hence philosophy versus empiricism.
Also as Darryl pointed out I was trying to revive a thread by xelasnave about this topic when certain individuals launched into each other and subsequently the thread was locked.
I found this to be a great pity as I enjoyed the exchange of opinions about the more esoteric scientific ideas and notions
