virus: Incredulity

Reed Konsler (konsler@ascat.harvard.edu)
Wed, 5 Mar 1997 18:49:01 -0500


Incredulity

Caracterized by statements such as:
"I cannot believe..."
"It is illogical..."
"It is inconsistent..."
"There is no way to..."

All such statements can be reduced to:
"I don't understand (how)..."

As in:
"There is no way to have a discussion if we do not
agree on some initial definitions."
"I cannot imagine a conception of reality without
(or with) [insert axiom]."

Arguments from personal incredulity are weak. It was
Dennett in Darwin's Dangerous Idea that first drove
this concept home to me.

Just becuase you cannot imagine something, does not make
it unreal or impossible. Our conception does not define
reality...in a positive (X is true) or in a negative
(X cannot be true) way.

Reed