Michael Sylvester wrote:
> But if these observations can be agreed upon by others then there
> is a consensus.
True.
On the other hand, since we know (from <shudder> research) that there is
a consensus among the majority of US Citizens that the US system of
government is _superior_ to that of every other nation; that country music
is much better than opera; or that marijuana is a gateway drug that leads
to heroin use . . .
You _weren't_ claiming that consensus represents scientific "truth," were
you?
> Actually,the number of persons may not be the critical
> variable.
True again.
If two of us go into our yards, look upward, and simultaneously see that
the moon is full, either: (1) both are perceiving the phenomenon
accurately; (2) one of us is observing the phenomenon accurately and the
other is either lying, misinterpreting what s/he is seeing, or
hallucinating or; (3) both of us are lying, misinterpreting what we are
seeing.
In the first case, our consensus provides more than enough evidence to
support a hypothesis that the moon is full.
In the second case, clearly no consensus exists.
Unfortunately, your arguments would seem to indicate that you believe
that since a consensus exists in the third case as well as it does in the
first case, it would be as accurate as the first.
> Even in research,baloney is still baloney even though
> it is researched.
No, actually it's "ground meat and meat by-products" technically--and
research is about technical accuracy, not popular beliefs.
> What is a flame anyway?
It's a deliberate and unprovoked attack on an individual, instead of
his/her ideas, aimed at silencing that individual unfairly. In many cases
the purpose is to prevent that individual's arguments from being judged on
their own merits by distracting from the issue and focusing on
personalities instead.
Or at least that's the consensus among most Internetworkers.
Rick
--
Rick Adams
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson Community College
Jackson, MI
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"... and the only measure of your worth and your deeds will be the love
you leave behind when you're gone. --Fred Small, Everything Possible "
