Peter Relson's point <begin extract> That seems like a never-ending spiral that can only be addressed by some level of trust (since no amount of testing can prove that there is no hole; it proves only that you cannot find a hole). </end extract>
is very well taken. It is a settled principle of formal logic that such universal negatives as There are no black swans can never be established. Adducing one black swan or the like refutes them. Like "All men are mortal", "There are no black swans" was a staple of mostly sophomoric philosophical discussion for millenia. Then in 1697 the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh discovered black swans in Australia. The behavior we are discussing here is not, however, rational. It is akin to festooning a strongbox with twelve hardware-store chains and padlocks. Doing so may, apparently does, reassure naif doers; but its contribution to the security of the strongbox is at once exiguous and delusive. John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA
