Quote:it is impossible to know something and yet simply lack a belief in the opposite of the claim. Knowledge is a form of strong belief.
While that may technically be true, it is also true that knowledge of something real does not require faith that it is real. For instance, I know that if I drop a ball, it will, due to the action of gravity, fall to the ground. This is knowledge based not only on the laws of physics but on real-time life experience that can be readily demonstrated and repeated. It doesn't require faith. That said, whether or not it actually strikes the ground is subject to some discussion, since the laws of physics also tells us that the concept of durability and solidity is by and large a myth of our senses, or perhaps, merely a property of the atomic forces, since matter mostly consists of empty space.
'The difference between a Miracle and a Fact is exactly the difference between a mermaid and seal. It could not be expressed better.'
-- Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens
"I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the scriptures, but with experiments, demonstrations, and observations".
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
"In short, Meyer has shown that his first disastrous book was not a fluke: he is capable of going into any field in which he has no training or research experience and botching it just as badly as he did molecular biology. As I've written before, if you are a complete amateur and don't understand a subject, don't demonstrate the Dunning-Kruger effect by writing a book about it and proving your ignorance to everyone else! "
- Dr. Donald Prothero
-- Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens
"I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the scriptures, but with experiments, demonstrations, and observations".
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
"In short, Meyer has shown that his first disastrous book was not a fluke: he is capable of going into any field in which he has no training or research experience and botching it just as badly as he did molecular biology. As I've written before, if you are a complete amateur and don't understand a subject, don't demonstrate the Dunning-Kruger effect by writing a book about it and proving your ignorance to everyone else! "
- Dr. Donald Prothero
