Sorry internet! I see in retrospect that I failed. I only meant to say that I feel humbled by my ignorance. I shouldn't have made the peasant remark. I meant to say that just as the medieval peasant (who likely didn't know his/her own age) did well to look to his intellectual betters (e.g., Peter Abelard and Avicenna), that is often the best that we can hope for for ourselves. Ideally we should have a firm grasp of science but, by in large (myself included), we don't. Wasn't trying to dispute evolution or anything, especially not the verification principle, just saying I think we should endeavor to educate ourselves as directly as we can with empirical evidence as we can.

I don't know if I'm a conservative or a liberal, but I know one thing for sure: most arguments I make are arguments from authority. I only believe in evolution and relativity because of what I've read in books. Never looked at a fetus, never danced with the stars... I don't have a lot of money, so I basically rely on the scientific community in the same way that a pre-modern peasant relied on the church.

I know people who have gotten around 10% off for paying in cash. It is very possible that a better negotiator could have gotten a similar rate without the cash, but I think we should allow for the possibility that paying in cash might be beneficial in some circumstances. Lets get some grants and see.

Don't hate. The Labour Party (not that they're alone) communicates in a dialect that speaks to its constituency. Just because you find it incoherent doesn't mean that they're making mistakes.

Communism doesn't kill people, physics kills people.

I think they've always been rather authoritarian. Segregation, anti-sodomy laws...

Not trying to weigh in one way or the other, but I think this question mirrors the arguments surrounding Galen Strawson's position on free will. Just saying that if you're interested in this question, a lot of really smart people spilled ink on a very similar question. It seems rather thorny to me, and I think the question ultimately reveals the presence of problematic assumptions, but I don't see any better alternatives. Anyway, I apologize in advance to anyone who looks into Strawson's position and finds it unhelpful. Doing my best. Just thought I saw a pattern.

Well, with their birth-rate this was kind of inevitable. Kind of awesome too. Future labor shortage averted!

Somebody took the Bible too literally. Punch cards never existed in real life, they're just a myth that resulted from a mis-translation from Koine Greek.