>Science points to a/c being vodoo like.
 
Hey, are you saying that my voodoo isn't real? :-)  (No, I don't practice
voodoo, though I'm sure there are plenty of islanders who would love to
argue with you over that statement.)
 
Any *true* science has to maintain an open mind on the issue.  We have
no concrete proof one way or the other, and without that the issue cannot
be decided.  The inability to prove that such abilities exist does not
constitute proof that they do not.  (The same can be said of voodoo,
btw.)
 
Any true scientist realizes that there is no answer without proof.
Unfortunately there are those who refuse to entertain any notion that
they cannot touch or see, anything that does not manifest itself
physically in ways they can measure.  Let us not forget that at one time
it was "true" that the Earth was flat, that the Earth was the center of
the universe, that protons, electrons and neutrons were the smallest
possible particles, that Mustela putorius furo was a valid subspecies
of ferret, and so on, and so on.  It was only after we developed ways
to measure these things that we discovered differently.
 
I'll agree with you on one minor point...you can't have "fact" without
proof, and in absence of that proof, a/c cannot be "fact."  That does not
mean it cannot be real, however.  We have to be as equally skeptical of
those who claim that "of course it can't be true" as of those who claim
"of course it is true." (And remember that "skeptical" means "I'm not
convinced," not, "you're wrong.")
 
As someone once pointed out to me, this is a ferret list, not a science
list, but sometimes it is useful to think about ferret issues
scientifically.
 
roger & the wolverine wannabees
missing bear
[Posted in FML issue 4089]