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  3. How much data do you require before you accept something as "fact"?

How much data do you require before you accept something as "fact"?

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  • T [email protected]

    Yeh it is.
    Proving that a scientific theory is wrong means we don't understand enough about the thing. And we know we need to look at other theories about the thing.
    Proving things wrong as well as failed hypothesis is as important (even if it is disappointing) as proving things correct and successful hypothesis. It rules the theory out, and guides further scientific study.
    With published papers, other scientists can hopefully see what the publishing scientists missed.
    Scientists can also repeat experiments of successful papers to confirm the papers conclusion, and perhaps even make further observations that can support further studies.

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    wrote on last edited by
    #138

    You may want to read what I said and try again.

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    • B [email protected]

      Sorry, I overestimated the level of your reading comprehension. Let me offer you some help here, since you clearly need it. You will note that my comment said,

      given that unicorns arenโ€™t objectively real

      and

      given that unicorns arenโ€™t real

      so your question was directly and deliberately answered twice in the negative in the context of defending my overall position, which you outright claimed I was unwilling to do.

      P.S.: Oh, sorry, I have probably still made things too complicated for your simplistic mind, haven't I? Let me make it even simpler for you, since are so desperate for an answer, and for some reason you think I am authority on this subject: no, unicorns aren't real.

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      wrote on last edited by
      #139

      no, unicorns arenโ€™t real.

      Then why are you arguing that the spring is?

      Oh right, because you are a pseudo intellectual who is full of shit.

      Take care

      B 1 Reply Last reply
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      • A [email protected]

        no, unicorns arenโ€™t real.

        Then why are you arguing that the spring is?

        Oh right, because you are a pseudo intellectual who is full of shit.

        Take care

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        wrote on last edited by
        #140

        Quoth my earlier comment:

        obviously if the spring does not exist then it cannot be drunk from.

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        • B [email protected]

          Quoth my earlier comment:

          obviously if the spring does not exist then it cannot be drunk from.

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          wrote on last edited by
          #141

          Phrased in a different way: if you see something that looks like a spring in the desert, then that might not mean that you will be able to drink from it, but you can be certain that, in that moment, you are seeing something that looks like a spring in the desert.

          Phrased in a different way: if you see something that looks like a spring unicorn in the desert, then that might not mean that you will be able to drink from pet it, but you can be certain that, in that moment, you are seeing something that looks like a spring unicorn in the desert.

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          • A [email protected]

            Phrased in a different way: if you see something that looks like a spring in the desert, then that might not mean that you will be able to drink from it, but you can be certain that, in that moment, you are seeing something that looks like a spring in the desert.

            Phrased in a different way: if you see something that looks like a spring unicorn in the desert, then that might not mean that you will be able to drink from pet it, but you can be certain that, in that moment, you are seeing something that looks like a spring unicorn in the desert.

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            wrote on last edited by
            #142

            Congratulations, you have just quoted me saying that the spring might not be real, and the "might" is there because, if you are lucky, then you may very well have been fortunate enough to have come across an actual oasis in the distance rather than a mere mirage.

            The second quote is your own fabrication and has nothing to do with anything I have argued because unicorns, unlike oases, are not even sometimes really there.

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            • B [email protected]

              Congratulations, you have just quoted me saying that the spring might not be real, and the "might" is there because, if you are lucky, then you may very well have been fortunate enough to have come across an actual oasis in the distance rather than a mere mirage.

              The second quote is your own fabrication and has nothing to do with anything I have argued because unicorns, unlike oases, are not even sometimes really there.

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              wrote on last edited by
              #143

              The fact that there is word for this experience demonstrates that the experience itself objectively exists, which only serves to prove my point.

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              • A [email protected]

                The fact that there is word for this experience demonstrates that the experience itself objectively exists, which only serves to prove my point.

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                wrote on last edited by
                #144

                Yes, that word being mirage, which is so objectively real that you can take a photograph of it:

                In contrast to a hallucination, a mirage is a real optical phenomenon that can be captured on camera, since light rays are actually refracted to form the false image at the observer's location. What the image appears to represent, however, is determined by the interpretive faculties of the human mind. For example, inferior images on land are very easily mistaken for the reflections from a small body of water.

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                • B [email protected]

                  Yes, that word being mirage, which is so objectively real that you can take a photograph of it:

                  In contrast to a hallucination, a mirage is a real optical phenomenon that can be captured on camera, since light rays are actually refracted to form the false image at the observer's location. What the image appears to represent, however, is determined by the interpretive faculties of the human mind. For example, inferior images on land are very easily mistaken for the reflections from a small body of water.

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                  wrote on last edited by
                  #145

                  There is a word for "Unicorn" as well.

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                  • A [email protected]

                    There is a word for "Unicorn" as well.

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                    wrote on last edited by
                    #146

                    A "Unicorn" is not a kind of experience; seeing a mirage is. Hence, "word for this experience".

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                    • B [email protected]

                      A "Unicorn" is not a kind of experience; seeing a mirage is. Hence, "word for this experience".

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                      wrote on last edited by
                      #147

                      I would imagine that seeing a Unicorn would be quite the experience.

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                      • A [email protected]

                        I would imagine that seeing a Unicorn would be quite the experience.

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                        wrote on last edited by
                        #148

                        I don't doubt that someone, somewhere, has had the very real experience of seeing a hallucinated Unicorn while eating random cacti in the desert! It would be ironic if this experience ended up distracting them so much that they walked straight past the very real oasis they were searching for, resulting in a very real tragic death by dehydration.

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                        • B [email protected]

                          I don't doubt that someone, somewhere, has had the very real experience of seeing a hallucinated Unicorn while eating random cacti in the desert! It would be ironic if this experience ended up distracting them so much that they walked straight past the very real oasis they were searching for, resulting in a very real tragic death by dehydration.

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                          wrote on last edited by
                          #149

                          Why do you believe humans need anything exterior to hallucinate?

                          Why is the Unicorn being imagined different than the oasis to you?

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                          • A [email protected]

                            Why do you believe humans need anything exterior to hallucinate?

                            Why is the Unicorn being imagined different than the oasis to you?

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                            wrote on last edited by
                            #150

                            Fantastic, this provides another teachable moment for you! ๐Ÿ˜€

                            My comment presented something called a hypothetical situation. It is an example of how particular circumstances can lead to a specific outcome. The key takeaway is that--and I recognize this can be confusing!--it does not make any claims outside the details contained within the hypothetical.

                            This answers both of your questions, but let me make it easy for you: I don't, and because I made these circumstances be true in this hypothetical situation.

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                            • B [email protected]

                              Fantastic, this provides another teachable moment for you! ๐Ÿ˜€

                              My comment presented something called a hypothetical situation. It is an example of how particular circumstances can lead to a specific outcome. The key takeaway is that--and I recognize this can be confusing!--it does not make any claims outside the details contained within the hypothetical.

                              This answers both of your questions, but let me make it easy for you: I don't, and because I made these circumstances be true in this hypothetical situation.

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                              wrote on last edited by
                              #151

                              Even if it is an illusion created by the brain, does that make it any less existent?

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                              • A [email protected]

                                Even if it is an illusion created by the brain, does that make it any less existent?

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                                wrote on last edited by
                                #152

                                If your brain creates the illusion of a unicorn, then the presence of the illusion is real, even if the unicorn is not.

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                                • B [email protected]

                                  If your brain creates the illusion of a unicorn, then the presence of the illusion is real, even if the unicorn is not.

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                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #153

                                  Whatever you say buddy.

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                                  • A [email protected]

                                    Whatever you say buddy.

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                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #154

                                    It is very telling that you are unable to respond directly to what I said. ๐Ÿ˜€

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                                    • B [email protected]

                                      It is very telling that you are unable to respond directly to what I said. ๐Ÿ˜€

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                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #155

                                      Yes it is. But not the way you think.

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                                      • A [email protected]

                                        Yes it is. But not the way you think.

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                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #156

                                        Once again, you prove yourself too cowardly to state your thought outright. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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                                        • B [email protected]

                                          Once again, you prove yourself too cowardly to state your thought outright. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #157

                                          I have stated my thoughts quite clearly, but allow me to do it again:

                                          Your entire hypothesis is bunk, and you need to jump through hoops to make it work while it also immediately fails using any other example. I know you feel smart because you think philosophy matters. Which it does, but only until it runs into actual Science. You have no argument to support whatever point you are trying to make and now you default to consistent personal attacks and fart smelling because you cannot reliably justify your position.

                                          Is that clear enough for you or am I still "proving myself cowardly to state my thoughts"? Do you have any follow up questions to make it more clear to you?

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