I really see both sides here. As a graduate aeronautical engineer I have a healthy respect for the body of theoretical knowledge that illuminates the field. And since most of my career was in systems test and development, and flight testing, I believe strongly in the experimental approach.

The fact is that truth resides in a melding of the two. Theory not based on, or substantiated by testing is not particularly productive, and random experimentation not illuminated by theory often leads to invalid conclusions. But when the two approaches are combined, the results can be quite significant.

Keep it up, guys. I find it quite entertaining and sometimes I even learn something.