Yes or No question

[Poi]

Ah, we are kindred spirits.

I try on new stuff all the time because only in trying it on do I find the fallacies. Yep, it just leaves more questions when I eventually abandon a theory for another. No theory is sacred, but it makes for interesting exploration ... unless it's just dumb. That's a subjective analysis, however and sometimes I surprise myself with returning to the dumb stuff too, if only briefly. A thought triggers some question that makes it necessary until logic overrules. I'm not sure logic is always what it is cracked up to be, but it's a necessary evil.

[Rick Deckard]

Originally Posted by Poi

No theory is sacred, but it makes for interesting exploration ...

I agree - I do despair when I see theories presented as fact. You must be prepared to discard a theory once it is shown to be 'unsafe' - I see too many people holding on to their 'pet' theories and never letting go...

[TClaeys]

Originally Posted by Miah

I can't answer anything I don't know for sure.

Miah,

None of us know for sure. Come on give it a try. I'll tell you it feels a little weird saying that you fall on one side of the fence or the other, but it is all just your best guess. Join the group, its just an opinion.

Like I appealed to Schtick, you can change your opinion tomorrow. I won't hold you to it, I mean we are all pretty much anonymous anyways. I just had to ask this question because I have such a hard time answering it myself. I think many of us here are part of that excluded middle. Closer to the center of the fence then to one extreme.

Would you reconsider casting a vote? Either way thanks for your comments.

[Rick Deckard]

Originally Posted by Poi

I try on new stuff all the time because only in trying it on do I find the fallacies. Yep, it just leaves more questions when I eventually abandon a theory for another.

I have a theory - an answer to a question will only lead to more questions. The more we learn the more we become aware of how little we know. The gap between what he have learnt and what we have yet to learn GROWS rather than SHRINKS over time.

An answer doesn't represent the end of a journey, it represents the beginning of several new journeys. We can carry on learning and improving our understanding, but paradoxically, the goal of 'total understanding' gets further away.

I guess the only logical way forward, is to stop asking questions and work with what we have. Welcome to religion.

Gosh, my head is spinning. I have to go and lie down now...

[mike]

Originally Posted by Rick Deckard

Well, not really. I'm offering a possible argument that you could put forward - that's not the same as me stating that fact with 'certainty'.

I think I need to say this more about myself and why I use these forums:

I am not CERTAIN of anything. I participate here to throw around ideas and see what sticks. I'm not here to persuade anyone of anything or change anyone's mind about anything - I'm here to see if MY mind can be changed. I sometimes take a contrary stance to my own beliefs in order to test them. I often find myself questioning my own understanding. I often find myself defending ideas that I don't necessarily agree with or support, just to see how firm those ideas are. I think people sometimes misunderstand my approach and become either frustrated or confused when I appear to 'flip flop' from one side of an argument to another. The reality is that I don't have any answers; only questions.

if you were trying to express a "possible argument" perhaps the words
"that fact alone tends to suggest" would be better than the word must, which implys a fixed value not a flexable one.

i understand your motivations rest assured, and far from being frustrated by them, i find them invigorating.

the exchange of ideas often creates a synergy as the body of the argument grows and evolves, for me thats the value of the process

[Poi]

I guess the only logical way forward, is to stop asking questions and work with what we have. Welcome to religion.

Ew. Retch.

But yeah. My one an only great epiphany taught me that we know nothing in spite of what we think we know. So why are we born asking questions?

It's enough to make me crazy. Crazy can be good?

[Rick Deckard]

Originally Posted by Poi

It's enough to make me crazy. Crazy can be good?

Dunno. What's 'crazy'? Holding a non-conformist view? Acting in a non-conformist way?

The crazy people think they're 'normal'. What's 'normal'?

And repeat and then rinse...

This 'yes' or 'no' thread is great, isn't it?

[Rick Deckard]

Originally Posted by mike

if you were trying to express a "possible argument" perhaps the words "that fact alone tends to suggest" would be better than the word must, which implys a fixed value not a flexable one.

I dunno. I thought the prefix "Well, you could look at it this way..." might have suggested a 'possible argument' rather than a 'statement of fact', but now we've clarified the semantics of my post, we can move on...

I suppose the forum post editor needs one of those 'fuzz' indicators that some text analysis tools use...

[Experiencer7]

The world is not black and white. Nor is this issue.

[Tweeg]

Originally Posted by Rick Deckard

Of course, there is also the possibility that the human race originated elsewhere...

That's one reason I can't give a yes or no on this.