Posted by:
eddie
(
)
Date: October 28, 2010 10:17PM
Bumped into this today and it seemed to reflect my awakening to reality when leaving Mormonism.
"Anne!" Anne was seated on the springboard; she turned her head. Jubal called out, "That new house on the far hilltop - can you see what color they've painted it?"
Anne looked in the direction in which Jubal was pointing and answered, "It's white on this side." - Stranger in a Strange Land
True-life scientists and skeptical investigators must often (tentatively, provisionally!) piece together imperfect clues. Nonetheless, Heinlein's fictional Fair Witnesses anticipated central commitments of modern skepticism:
1. Primacy of empirical evidence over armchair reasoning;
2. Obligation to accurately state the limits of the available evidence;
3. Refusal to reach conclusions prior to investigation.
I submit that this is the heart of skeptical practice."
http://skepticblog.org/2010/10/22/burden-of-proof/