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[Phys-L] Re: ID defenders



----- Original Message -----
From: "Shapiro, Mark" <mshapiro@EXCHANGE.FULLERTON.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 2:05 PM
Subject: Re: ID defenders


As to believing in things for which I don't have "direct evidence", I
don't have "direct" evidence that electrons exist. I've never seen,
tasted, or felt one. All my evidence that electrons exist is indirect.
Nevertheless, I think it is a much better bet that electrons exist than
that the universe and all the life in it was created in six days.

In the case of electrons, we have the ability to perform tests which either
support the notion or find it to be false. That we can, and have done this
makes our degree of confidence in the existence of some entity we have
called an electron very high. I consider that a much different situation
than asserting an untestable hypothesis as "fact". ANY testable hypothesis
for which tests produced results consistent with the hypothesis is to be
preferred over ANY untestable hypothesis. THAT is the point.