On 25 Nov 99, at 8:28, Brian Gordon wrote:
> The point has been made by a few folks that the collective we do not rely
> sufficiently upon data before believing things. I would agree, but would
> also say that there are times when individuals believe in something
> because they have "data" that they are unable to articulate or when
> science does not (yet) have an answer.
>
> For example, I'm sure the world at large thought that Edison and Gandhi
> were fools for doing what they did: umpty-thousand experiments to make a
> light bulb and living the belief that non-violence was the only way.
> However, they persisted, and today we have a profound respect for the two
> men, their ideas and accomplishments.
I think most of us are engaged in different pursuits. The majority of
people aren't in similar positions. First, Gandhi was dedicated to social
change on a large scale. His beliefs had to do with the creation of a
different future, and not so much on what is "fact".
And, inventors similarly. I suspect we need to discuss this in a more
fine-grained way. I think there is a difference between generating
something new, and simply using, let's say, a tool that we "believe" works
despite a lack of evidence, or our understanding that tool.
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