From: "Robert Comer" 

> So the green revolution, the development of the car, mass manufacturing,
> airplanes, transistors, antibiotic, and all the rest aren't a
> demonstration of the efficacy of at least some human minds?

Yes, but are any of those as efficient as the could be -- no, are any
catchall's, no.  There good obviously, but they could be better.

> But that is itself using a belief that one _knows_ facts about the past.
> You see my point?

Not really -- I "know" (not with 100% accuracy obviously) what
was written, and given those "facts", one can approximate what's
going to happen in the future.

 > The people who argue that there is evidence to
> demonstrate how unsure everything is have to be sure about their
> evidence in order to even bother to make the argument (or they can be
> totally nuts).

Weird circular argument.  Maybe I am totally nuts, but it seems eminently
logical that we can't know everything on any one particular subject.

> In other words, in order to reject some model or view previously held
> there have to be some new facts that you use as part of the disproof.

Absolutely.  My mind works the same way, but I guess it doesn't bother me
as much when I have to change my "model."  (I fact, I like
changing my model -- it means I learned something.)

> I take relativity and such as a subset of the real set of physical laws.
> So I'm unwilling to state that.

Makes sense.

> But if some of the string theories about other dimensions are true maybe
> it would be possible to somewhere else in the galaxy in a big hurry. Or
> at least get to a new universe or something equally strange.

There's all sorts of weird theories out there, some even provable -- if we
learn some key part of the equation. (like  my assumption that we can
indeed manipulate gravity in the future.)

> Is the key gravity? How can you be certain of that? 

I can't for sure obviously, but it allows things like Star Trek's Warp
drive (actually it's more like squeezing space in front of you and the
stretching it back out after you), or it even may allow things like space
folding and other worm hole type phenomena.

> How can you be certain that you can muster as much certainty about that
> position as I can about mine?

Because I think I'm just as stubborn as you are. 

- Bob Comer 



"Randall Parker"  wrote in message

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