A question regarding proof

[Fred]

I had a dream about a pony last night.

Can my pony dream be objectively proven?

[Rhythm]

I don't know, can it, provide your evidence.

[Faith No More]

If all we have to go by is your word, no.

[ElDinero]

What an odd question. Of course you can't prove you had a dream. But by the same token, if you told me you had a dream about a pony, I'd be inclined to believe you, because I wouldn't see the point in lying about it. You could be lying, and you'd probably get away with it if you were.

[Bandoman]

I had a dream that I was a pony in someone else's dream. I was in your dream, OP. Prove I wasn't.

[Fred]

(7th September 2011 23:32)Rhythm Wrote:  I don't know, can it, provide your evidence.

No evidence exists. I cannot prove it and neither can you or anyone else.

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(7th September 2011 23:35)FaithNoMore Wrote:  If all we have to go by is your word, no.

That's all we have, so yes, the correct answer is no.

[Rhythm]

No evidence exists, or you personally have no evidence?

[Fred]

(7th September 2011 23:48)ElDinero Wrote:  What an odd question.

Not at all. Let's walk it out.

Quote:Of course you can't prove you had a dream.

Exactly.

Quote:But by the same token, if you told me you had a dream about a pony, I'd be inclined to believe you,

Why on earth would you believe something for which there was no evidence? That's crazy.

Quote:because I wouldn't see the point in lying about it. You could be lying, and you'd probably get away with it if you were.

There is no proof whatsoever for my dream pony, so of course I am lying. How could it be otherwise? There is simply no credible evidence for the existence of a dream pony, so anyone who claims to have had the experience is lying or delusional.

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(7th September 2011 23:54)Rhythm Wrote:  No evidence exists, or you personally have no evidence?

No objective evidence exists.

[Rhythm]

Sounds like a claim of absolute certainty. It's probably more appropriate to say that you have no such evidence, and are currently at a loss as to how to provide such evidence.

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That being said, I've had dreams, many people report dreams. Ponies don't sound too far fetched do they. I definitely don't have any evidence to the contrary. There doesn't seem to be anything in this statement that is so far fetched as to require verification unless one needed to be technical, so I'd give you your pony dream. (I wouldn't raise my hand and swear that you had a pony dream on my life, but I'd swear that you claimed to have had a pony dream on my life)

PS: I don't think any of this means what you think it means, or supports some argument that you're going to attempt to make anyway.

[ElDinero]

Oh, I see, you were trying to trick me. Obviously not the same thing, mostly because whether or not you dreamed about a pony doesn't matter. Rather than say I'd believe you, it would be better to say 'I would think nothing of your claim'. If you made a claim that you dreamed about a pony and it became real, that would require further testing.