What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It

by **Aaron** » Fri 07 Jan 2005, 10:41:06

http://edge.org/q2005/q05_print.html

by **khebab** » Fri 07 Jan 2005, 11:42:03

Very interesting, thank you! I believe that intuition plays a huge role in any scientific process.

by **MarkL** » Fri 07 Jan 2005, 11:44:55

by **Aaron** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 12:52:28

OK then...

Don't everybody chime in at once.

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I believe, but cannot prove that MonteQuest is actually a high-level government experiment in artificial intelligence.

Nobody is that smart...

-------------------------------------------------

But seriously, I believe, but cannot prove that humanity is among the senior, (or oldest), intelligent species in our galaxy.

Just based on mathematical probability, and an extension of Carl Sagan's arguments.

Sagan said that there are so many potential candidate planets where intelligent life could evolve, that it constitutes a virtual certainty.

If only one of the billions of star systems in our galaxy has planets, and only one of these has planets capable of supporting life, and only one of these actually develops life, and only one of these develops intelligent life, there would be literally millions of intelligent species in our galaxy alone.

I extend this concept based on galactic astronomy.

Observation has concluded that our galaxy is expanding from it's central axis, (and indeed the entire universe). This implies that the oldest star systems are those on the outer boundaries of the galaxy.

Like Earth.

If we accept the idea that evolutionary processes are the engine which creates intelligent species, then it stands to reason that the older a given system is, the more likely that system is to produce life.

Man - The Elder Statesmen of the Milky Way

by **skateari** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 13:02:10

Good one Aaron, that got me thinking pretty good. None to share atm off the top of my head, ill come back if I can come up with something good

by **mindfarkk** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 13:25:22

hey look! bruce sterling!

by **Aaron** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 17:17:35

I didn't say I coined it... just that believe it & can't prove it.

by **KiddieKorral** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 17:21:50

Y'all can't prove that I'm not a trained monkey named Bubba.

I love being random.

by **Aaron** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 17:50:37

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KiddieKorral', 'Y')'all can't prove that I'm not a trained monkey named Bubba.

I love being random.

by **KiddieKorral** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 18:00:02

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')o... but I believe it.

by **Aaron** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 18:03:38

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KiddieKorral', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'N')o... but I believe it.

by **KiddieKorral** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 18:12:20

Must...fight...monkey...urges...

ooh ooh ooh AAH AAH AAH! Me want banana!

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 19:19:49

You wanna banana! Come on, don't lay yourself out for exploitation. I'm weak and so are most men.

by **KiddieKorral** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 19:29:10

Okay, I admit I kinda set myself up for that one.

by **PenultimateManStanding** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 19:38:44

May Allah bless your path and lead you to bliss

by **KiddieKorral** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 19:54:59

So random, yet so sweet. Or should it be the other way around?

by **pilferage** » Sun 09 Jan 2005, 20:52:43

I believe there is truth that I cannot prove. :razz:

by **mindfarkk** » Mon 10 Jan 2005, 00:23:38

i believe what we can appreciate with our intellect is only part of what is real.

i believe some of the most important realities can never be expressed in words or otherwise symbolized. i believe that there is a dynamism that some describe as god or spirit and which is intimately connected with being alive, which is immediate and direct and experiential, and unexpected. it is the same thing that calculus attempts to represent, but fails. it is the essence of change. it can't be harnessed or controlled, but it can be accessed. and sometimes it makes things or enables things to happen that exceed anything we expect. or maybe in true tao style we simply find it and it takes us somewhere unexpected.

by **skiwi** » Mon 10 Jan 2005, 00:39:24

I know that there are a lot of pin heads visiting this forum who have enough trouble running peak oil through their solitary brain cell let alone anything else out of the norm

by **mindfarkk** » Mon 10 Jan 2005, 00:53:13

but can you PROVE it?

What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It

What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It

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