[extropy-chat] Scientific standards of evidence

[aperick at centurytel.net]

It has been said: to be great is to be misunderstood. I am going to have to
try to remember not to purchase any snug fitting hats.

Chris, I think that most scientists are wise in 'failing' to look into most
'strange' questions. One should have an open mind, but maybe not so open so
as to let your brains fall out.

As for your wife's rib pain. You may have simply witnessed a meaningless
coincidence. Such synchronized events happen all the time, just as we would
expect given the huge number of events in play. Correlation is no proof of
causation. I do not find the fact that a small portion of the population
(you and your wife, and thousands of others) encounter at some point in
their lifetimes some correlation that seems to them to be "scary" - as the
least bit unusual. If we all eat alphabet soup every day of our lives we can
expect a few folks to be insulted by the ghost in the minestrone. When an
exceedingly rare event occurs (like two similar things, nearly synchronized)
it is not a wakeup call for a scientific investigation. Investigation is
only warranted when there is an abundance of repetition - patterns may mean
something, but virtually never is there a special significance to an
isolated static pop.

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.515 / Virus Database: 313 - Release Date: 9/1/2003