[Tea on tuesday]

Lord, help me. I am bored.

Originally Posted by Lyenae

So far I've educated this thread by

Ah, undeserved arrogance. Sweetest of the message board rhetorics.

Originally Posted by Lyenae

1) Making people aware of naturalism/skepticism. Skepticism is an ally that should be at the side of any person anywhere. When scientists claim a process that can be viewed today occurred millions of years ago and is the one and only explanation for how humans came into being when scientists admit they don't even have a proper grasp of how time works, nor were any of them there, being skeptical is perfectly fucking normal/rational for anyone who can think for themselves.

Thanks for educating us unwashed masses on skepticism. I'm in awe of your rational prowess. You seem to have a poor grasp on how exactly science works. There is no, "this is how it happened and it only happened this way." Direct observation isn't a requirement of science. The only thing science requires is independent verification, which evolutionary theory provides in quantities approaching metric fucktons . Science only selects for the most likely explanation; it never selects for the absolute truth, which science holds to be absolutely untenable.

If you are going to deny evolution (I should use the term "macro evolution" here shouldn't I?) on a basis of skepticism despite all the evidence for it simply because it hasn't been directly deserved then you're about a two shades of gray away from skirting the fringes of sophistry.

I like to use an analogy here. Suppose I were to propose that I had a new theory for the structure of the Earth's crust. Don't tell anyone, but it's the same theory only I have broken it up into two parts. The first part I call micro plate tectonics. Everyone can see that the plates that form the Earth's crust occasionally bump around like school girls in a mosh pit. It's a quite adequate explanation for earthquakes and volcanoes and such, and what's more we can directly observe it. We can see the plates moving ever so slightly thanks to things like seismographs. But then there's this other theory that I call macro plate tectonics, which states that over geologic time that the plates shift the continents around over thousands and thousands of miles. There may be some evidence to suggest that this does indeed occur like magnetic pole wandering, but it's never been directly observed and we have no way of knowing if it really happened like that. So, I maintain a healthy aura of skepticism like any free thinking rational person should.

Time out on the part of the narrator for a spell of cozy mute mirth.

Obscure, self-aggrandizing allusion +1.

Also, you used a red herring. Can't buy a bucket.

Originally Posted by Lyenae

I've contributed a ton to this thread. People who are interested in thinking for themselves and are curious how people know anything, should pick up a general world philosophy book and go from there.

It'll rank up there as one of the best time investments you ever do.

Cringe worthy---abdomen beginning to heave;heaving; narrator convulsed.

Obscure, self-aggrandizing allusion +2.