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	<title>Comments on: Proof of Belief</title>
	<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/</link>
	<description>I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog.</description>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:20:48 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>By: Larzluv</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36904</link>
		<dc:creator>Larzluv</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2007 07:59:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36904</guid>
		<description>Gary:

Thanks for your reply; I've always been curious...  {{== that showed up as three periods, right?  ;)

I'd suspected there were settings differences somewhere between you, The Site In Question, and me that translated "." into ","... yeah, I asked myself why wouldn't the single comma/period get xlated...

Eh!  Idly curious and thought I'd ask...!  :D

Cheers, and see ya 'round!
-Larz

(Sorry about my [partial ;)] double-post; seems the site interpreted my arrow above as an HTML tag [it was originally with less-than symbols ;)]...!)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gary:</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply; I&#8217;ve always been curious&#8230;  {{== that showed up as three periods, right?  <img src='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' /><br />
I&#8217;d suspected there were settings differences somewhere between you, The Site In Question, and me that translated &#8220;.&#8221; into &#8220;,&#8221;&#8230; yeah, I asked myself why wouldn&#8217;t the single comma/period get xlated&#8230;</p>
<p>Eh!  Idly curious and thought I&#8217;d ask&#8230;!  <img src='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif' alt=':D' class='wp-smiley' /><br />
Cheers, and see ya &#8217;round!<br />
-Larz</p>
<p>(Sorry about my [partial ;)] double-post; seems the site interpreted my arrow above as an HTML tag [it was originally with less-than symbols ;)]&#8230;!)</p>
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		<title>By: Larzluv</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36903</link>
		<dc:creator>Larzluv</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2007 07:57:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36903</guid>
		<description>Gary:

Thanks for your reply; I've always been curious... (</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gary:</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply; I&#8217;ve always been curious&#8230; (</p>
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		<title>By: BH1602</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36902</link>
		<dc:creator>BH1602</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 16:21:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36902</guid>
		<description>Belief has its place among rational people and within rational society. If we could prove the best candidate for a given position, we would forever rid ourselves of elections where the margin of victory is slimmer than the margin of error.

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself," cannot be proved or disproved. "Give me liberty or give me death," is not a hypothesis.

It was not meant to be an accurate appraisal of Britain's status in the war with Germany, but a defiance of it, when Churchill said, "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

It was unscientific, but when we consider that Nazi "science" was working on the rationale and methodology for genocide, I'm glad it bought us some time.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Belief has its place among rational people and within rational society. If we could prove the best candidate for a given position, we would forever rid ourselves of elections where the margin of victory is slimmer than the margin of error.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have nothing to fear but fear itself,&#8221; cannot be proved or disproved. &#8220;Give me liberty or give me death,&#8221; is not a hypothesis.</p>
<p>It was not meant to be an accurate appraisal of Britain&#8217;s status in the war with Germany, but a defiance of it, when Churchill said, &#8220;We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.&#8221;</p>
<p>It was unscientific, but when we consider that Nazi &#8220;science&#8221; was working on the rationale and methodology for genocide, I&#8217;m glad it bought us some time.</p>
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		<title>By: Gary Ansorge</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36901</link>
		<dc:creator>Gary Ansorge</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 14:57:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36901</guid>
		<description>Larzluv:

Three commas merely indicate a "pause for thought or comment,,,"

It's a poetic device used when trying to communicate verbal emphasis in a written format. Then again, my reading glasses are sometimes so filthy I have trouble seeing what I've just typed. That's a problem with far sightedness. We can't see the dirt on the lenses but it still interferes with visual clarity.

In other words, same keyboard layout, just a slightly different way of writing.

GAry 7</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Larzluv:</p>
<p>Three commas merely indicate a &#8220;pause for thought or comment,,,&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a poetic device used when trying to communicate verbal emphasis in a written format. Then again, my reading glasses are sometimes so filthy I have trouble seeing what I&#8217;ve just typed. That&#8217;s a problem with far sightedness. We can&#8217;t see the dirt on the lenses but it still interferes with visual clarity.</p>
<p>In other words, same keyboard layout, just a slightly different way of writing.</p>
<p>GAry 7</p>
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		<title>By: Larzluv</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36900</link>
		<dc:creator>Larzluv</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 07:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36900</guid>
		<description>Gary Ansorge:

This is a lame question, and off-topic, but seeing the effect yet again in your post (I feel so lame and out-of-touch for asking; I'm a computer person, for the sake of Pete!  :)):

When you have an ellipsis, I see three commas instead of periods.

Different keyboard layout?  Or?

Just curious.  Thanks for answering if you feel so inclined!!  :)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gary Ansorge:</p>
<p>This is a lame question, and off-topic, but seeing the effect yet again in your post (I feel so lame and out-of-touch for asking; I&#8217;m a computer person, for the sake of Pete!  :)):</p>
<p>When you have an ellipsis, I see three commas instead of periods.</p>
<p>Different keyboard layout?  Or?</p>
<p>Just curious.  Thanks for answering if you feel so inclined!!  <img src='http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /></p>
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		<title>By: Christian Burnham</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36899</link>
		<dc:creator>Christian Burnham</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 06:42:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36899</guid>
		<description>People here might like to check out this hilarious essay by philosopher/logician/mathematician Raymond Smullyan:

"An Epistemological Nightmare"

http://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/epistemologicalNightmare.html

It should make you think twice about belief, logic and science.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>People here might like to check out this hilarious essay by philosopher/logician/mathematician Raymond Smullyan:</p>
<p>&#8220;An Epistemological Nightmare&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/epistemologicalNightmare.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/prose/text/epistemologicalNightmare.html</a></p>
<p>It should make you think twice about belief, logic and science.</p>
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		<title>By: John Krehbiel</title>
		<link>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36898</link>
		<dc:creator>John Krehbiel</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 02:47:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid>http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2007/05/21/proof-of-belief/#comment-36898</guid>
		<description>I used to work part-time in a grocery store. When I mentioned my intrest in evolutionary theory, my customer said something like "It takes a lot of faith to believe in evolution."

I said that the only thing I have to take on faith is that the laws of the universe are observable and don't change from one day to the next. The rest follows.

For me it's about reliability. If I were lucky (?) enough to be in orbit around Jupiter and was plotting a course home, I could choose between two (or many more) methods. If I use classical mathematics and a modern understandng of orbital mechanics, I get home. If I use "Afrocentric" mathematics and Feminist alternative "ways of knowing," I get dead.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I used to work part-time in a grocery store. When I mentioned my intrest in evolutionary theory, my customer said something like &#8220;It takes a lot of faith to believe in evolution.&#8221;</p>
<p>I said that the only thing I have to take on faith is that the laws of the universe are observable and don&#8217;t change from one day to the next. The rest follows.</p>
<p>For me it&#8217;s about reliability. If I were lucky (?) enough to be in orbit around Jupiter and was plotting a course home, I could choose between two (or many more) methods. If I use classical mathematics and a modern understandng of orbital mechanics, I get home. If I use &#8220;Afrocentric&#8221; mathematics and Feminist alternative &#8220;ways of knowing,&#8221; I get dead.</p>
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