Quote:
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Originally Posted by Paleobabe
Conversation I had today:
"Why do people get so upset over evolution? It's just a theory."
"A scientific theory is basically equivalent to fact."
"No a theory is when you say 'I think this happens because...'"
"No that's a hypothesis."
"what? No that's a theory."
"No a scientific theory is an idea that can be tested in multiple ways and the results always jive with the idea."
"I don't believe you. I've never heard that before."
"Well why don't you look up 'scientific theory' and then get back to me."
"I'm not going to look in YOUR book!
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You have demonstrated why people waste good money on Listerene. Simple principles were taught in junior high school science. To have a fact, both underlying concepts AND experimental evidence are required. Without both, then one only has, at best, a theory. Without both concepts, then they have wild speculation, urban myth, or political rhetoric. To have both science concepts and experimental confirmation, then proven principles of science and the *numbers* are required.
Blind worshippers *feel* Listerene working in their mouth AND therefore *know* it must be doing something. If Listerene does anything effective, then a quarter teaspoon of Vodka does as much.
Religion is best described as wild speculation - or what mankind did many thousands of years ago when philosophy was the only science. When tools of science did not exist. To deny this, others must obfuscate, pervert, confuse, or use Rush Limbaugh propaganda techniques to promote religious rhetoric over logical thought. And yes, so many are so easily perverted by emotion - deny the facts - that 70% of us believed Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. This is when those with numbers and experience were ignored as they reported contrarian facts - ie no uranium from Niger. Mythical weapons that just made no sense once we applied numbers to wild speculation.
One factor consistent among those who believe - facts be damned - is they avoid all numbers. Same applies to religious extremists, 'Harry Potter' witchcraft, teachings of the KKK, or "Psychic friends".
Rather surprising how many 20 year olds cannot read a map, believe the first thing they are told, AND still don't understand basic science concepts. It does not end with Listerene or worshipers of the Pond's Institute for 'age defying cream'. It is how Joseph Goebels could so easily promote Hitler's agenda. Get them to assume emotionally rather than think logically.
Paleobabe has simply posted another example of those who even deny what was demonstrated in junior high school science. These are people most easily recruited for tasks such as suicide bombers or cannon fodder for the military's front line.