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Author Topic:   Working Hypothesis -- what is the value?
Omnivorous
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Posts: 3978
From: Adirondackia
Joined: 07-21-2005
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Message 80 of 92 (736352)
09-07-2014 5:58 PM
Reply to: Message 79 by RAZD
09-07-2014 5:39 PM


Re: the discovering further evidence and "human imagination" pseudoscience
Pardon my intrusion...
RAZD writes:
Typical claims of this purported "hypothesis" ... and not much of practical use in any investigation -- let's see why:
The "human imagination hypothesis" typically goes something like this:
Anything that is believed to exist without empirical objective evidence is actually due to human imagination, rather than any objective reality or observation.
That seems a bit unfair, RAZD. Perhaps this formulation more closely tracks what Straggler is saying:
Phenomena believed to exist despite the lack of empirical evidence may be due to the human imagination.
Using the formulation "anything...is actually due to" overextends his argument into the realm of the ridiculous, where he does not actually take it.
Another, more specific formulation might be:
Phenomena reported by eyewitnesses for which no empirical evidence has been discovered despite many investigations also must be considered in the light of the unreliability of eyewitnesses and the power of the human imagination.
Doctors learn that symptoms are like hoof-beats: when you hear them, it is more likely the common horse than the exotic zebra.
And pretty certainly not a unicorn.
At any rate, Straggler's argument deserves to be opposed in its strongest form, not in its most vulnerable.
Edited by Omnivorous, : New at this indent thang...

"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."

This message is a reply to:
 Message 79 by RAZD, posted 09-07-2014 5:39 PM RAZD has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 81 by RAZD, posted 09-07-2014 8:28 PM Omnivorous has not replied

  
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