(March 19, 2012 at 8:59 am)Phil Wrote: I know that is commonly said but it appears to be wrong. Here, I'll prove 2 + 2 doesn't equal 3 and that is proving a negative. Take 2 rocks in your left hand and 2 more in your right hand. Throw them on the table in front of you. Do you have 3 rocks? Negative has been proven. What can't be proven is a negative that has an infinite number of possibilities.
Its economy of language, you're absolutely correct, we're talking about proving the negative of an abstract idea, rather than the negative of a fact.
Self-authenticating private evidence is useless, because it is indistinguishable from the illusion of it. ― Kel, Kelosophy Blog
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm
