Re: [Phys-l] Global Evolution as fact

[William Robertson <wrobert9@ix.netcom.com>]

And no statement by others is so uncontroversial that one cannot  
answer it with arrogant condescension, I suppose. I can always count  
on that from certain people in this forum. Intellect and a solid grasp  
of the concepts of physics are valuable gifts to offer in a forum like  
this (and you definitely have those gifts), but they are not so rare  
that people should suffer pomposity to have access to them.

Bill



On Jan 8, 2011, at 10:36 PM, John Denker wrote:

> Elvis is dead.
> Smoking is bad for you.
> The earth is not flat.
> The moon is not made of green cheese.
> Biology is understood in terms of evolution and not otherwise.
> Evolution produces new species.
>
> These facts are not seriously open to question.
>
> I reckon all facts are open to question "in principle": ... but
> not all to the same degree.
>
> As the saying goes: You should keep in open mind, but not so
> open that your brains fall out.
>
> I don't know everything about astronomy, and I don't know
> everything about dairy products, but I know the moon is not
> made of green cheese.
>
> I have made a career of overturning established facts.  For sure
> it can be done, but there are right ways and wrong ways of going
> about it.
> -- For one thing, nobody has enough time and resources to question 
>  everything, so one must decide what is worth questioning.  This
>  requires judgment.
> -- If you want to overturn an established fact, you need evidence.  
>  Indeed you need a lot of evidence.  As James Randi is fond of
>  saying, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.
>
> If you have nothing more than a hunch, or a philosophical argument
> that everything is open to question "in principle", keep it to  
> yourself
> until you have some actual evidence.  Don't pester other people with
> your speculations.
>
> In particular, saying that some long-ago fact A was overturned does
> not even remotely resemble evidence that fact B is seriously open
> to question.  Saying such a thing is illogical and is the opposite
> of good judgment.
>
> On 01/08/2011 08:09 PM, William Robertson wrote:
> > Many "facts" have been overturned in history,
>
> That may be,  However:
>
> Elvis is still dead.
> Smoking is still bad for you.
> The earth is still not flat.
> The moon is still not made of green cheese.
> Biology is still understood in terms of evolution and not otherwise.
> Evolution still produces new species.
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