David Thomson wrote:
Hi Stephen, I don't know what your religion is. All I know is that when the discussion veers away from the math and data, it bases upon our faith in our own personal opinion. Such a discussion is indistinguishable from a religious discussion. If we stay with the science then we should have no difficulty in communication. If it gets to a point where we are cornered, we can ask for more time to investigate our argument before admitting the need to change our view. But someplace along the line the science should lead us unequivocally to the same conclusion. Are these terms fair enough?
Sure thing. As long as you keep in mind that we will probably never actually agree! :-) We've both argued this sort of issue before, I'm sure, and you know how often one side actually convinces the other side; the best one can do is keep it polite (and I have been falling down rather badly on that score, I'm afraid).
