You felt I had not shown that the world is uncertain.
Here is your chance to show all how your I.Q. is 200
points higher then mine. I will defend that this is
an uncertain world and you can defend how it is
a certain world. As challenger, I shall go first.
Is this a uncertain world?
It seems to be pretty clear that this is an uncertain world.
What is uncertain in this world.
Just about everything. I looked into my dictionary
for the definition of uncertainty. 1. not known certainly.
That kind of definition means I must look up certainty.
- having no doubt. 2. known without doubt.
We can start small and work our way up.
Earlier someone stated that they were certain that
the capital of pennslyvania was harrisburg. That is what I
think of as a transitory fact. It was true in the past and
true right now, but it may not be true in the future.
For instance here in california, we have had several cities
over the last 150 years be the state capital. And we
all recall that washinton dc was not the original national
capital. What is true and certain in the past may not be
in the future. Another transitory fact is again shown here
in california, recently after a 100+ years of being the
largest city in the bay area, San francisco is now the second
largest city in the SF bay area behind San Jose. Facts such
as these change, there can no certainty with transitory facts.
Now what else is uncertain? Theories such as
evolution and gravity. New facts come in all the time
that change and modify these theories. Newton came
up with the theory of gravity. Einstein dramatically changed
the Newtonian theory with his idea’s. And new ideas
are changing and modifing Einstein theories.
So even “set” theories are being modified and changed.
So how certain is a theory that is being changed in
such a way? Odds are in your favor that these theories
are correct, but that is not certainty. There is doubt.
Perhaps in some part of the universe gravity does not
work the same way it does here. We cannot know.
Now one might say that there is certainty in the fact
we all die. All humans beings die. We don’t actually have
all the facts to support that statement. It may be a human
being has not died. Our problem is we cannot know about
every single human that has been born has also died.
Now we may guess that this is true, habit certainly suggest
that this is true, but the fact is we just don’t know untill
we compare the birthrate and death rate of everyone who has
existed. That would be the only certain way to know.
Otherwise there must be doubt.
Another idea of certainty is the sun will rise tomorrow.
Well actually we don’t know that. Again habit suggest
that to be true, but until the sun actually rises, we really
are just hoping that the sun will rise tomorrow.
In reality there is very little that can be called certain.
That is your cue, tom.
Show us a certain universe/world.
Kropotkin