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| Re: Atheist Billboard At Lincoln Tunnel Approach (702550) | |||
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Re: Atheist Billboard At Lincoln Tunnel Approach |
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Posted by JayMan on Wed Dec 1 14:38:35 2010, in response to Re: Atheist Billboard At Lincoln Tunnel Approach, posted by David Fairthorne on Wed Dec 1 14:13:07 2010. >>>>Aside from the ridiculousness of the idea of proving a negative,I don't see why that's ridiculous. In mathematics you sometimes prove affirmatives (for instance existence and uniqueness theorems) and you sometimes prove negatives (nonexistence theorems). Example of a proven negative: there is no rational number whose value is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Sometimes you prove affirmatives by contradiction (assuming the proposition to be false and arriving at a contradiction). Sometimes you prove negatives by contradiction (assuming the proposition to be true and arriving at a contradiction). Unfortunately, it is generally understood that outside the world of strict mathematics (and by extension, abstract logic) it is impossible to prove a negative, or, conversely, to absolutely prove a positive. To do so would require complete knowledge of all possibilities, which in our state of ignorance about the universe is presently impossible. Indeed, as physicist Max Tegmark has pointed out the universe may itself be ultimately mathematical. In that case we lake the ability to garner absolute proof precisely because we lack complete knowledge of the underlying equations of reality. Scientists sometimes use the word "God" as an personification of nature. Einstein didn't like the randomness of quantum mechanics because he didn't think God would play dice. I don't much like the idea that God would divide by zero, creating black holes. In all these context it is understood to be metaphorical. Einstein didn't believe in a literal God. |
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