Heinlein also writes:
Piling up facts is not science--science is facts-and-theories. Facts alone have limited use and lack meaning; a valid theory organizes them into far greater usefulness. ... A powerful theory not only embraces old facts and new but also discloses unsuspected facts.
It's easy to downplay the importance of facts when the vast majority of people base their conclusions about facts on actual, real world evidence. However, when a not inconsequential number of people are unable to accurately perceive reality or come to accurate conclusions about facts, it's impossible to overstate the importance of facts.
Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson
We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat
It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate
Howling about evidence is a conversation stopper, and it never stops to think if the claim could possibly be true -- foreveryoung
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