Miscellaneous thoughts about miscellaneous matters
While thinking about the insurrection invading the U.S. Capitol, I realized that the underlying reason for it was ignorance; although there may reasons for the ignorance. Most people have very limited contact with state and local government, just paying taxes, voting, building inspections, etc. And many people think that TV cop shows are good sources for legal advice and information about prosecution. For criminal prosecution, there are many rules for the collection of evidence, ...
In the course of reciting the dogmas of AGW, someone used the phrase "settled science" in regard to the theory that global warming has been caused by human activity. I foolishly started wondering what science is settled. There are matters that nearly everyone agrees on that might be called "settled", but when you scratch the surface there are questions. There aren't many people who don't believe the theory of gravity. Newton's law of universal gravitation states ...
I recently ran across an article and a paper on determining the potential lifespans of conspiracy theories. It is an interesting idea, but I think there are problems with it so I posted a link and a comment on a forum to which I belong. Several people replied, but they ignored the paper and attacked my comments about problems with the method. Take a look at the paper and see what you think. I think that it is a method to make shooting from the hip look more dignified. Set up an equation to give ...
Updated 01-29-2016 at 08:36 PM by PeterL
There is another question here. Why don’t people use the simple tools of logic to determine the validity of conspiracy theories? Occam’s Razor (link below) is well suited for determining whether an argument is valid. Fundamentally, Occam’s Razor states that the simplest explanation probably is the most accurate one. Let’s see what happens when we apply the Razor to some conspiracy theories. The JFK Assassination is a problem, until we apply Occam’s Razor. “Entities must not be multiplied ...
Religious discrimination Here in the U.S.A. we are guaranteed the right to practice the religion of our choice, which is interesting, and we are further guaranteed that there will be no establishment of religion, but this part has been completely ignored. Organized religion has been established as official and even granted tax exempt status. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This was applied to ...