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Let me guess, you said something similar to all the people that said the NSA were tracking everyone.
by dalore 13y ago
Let me guess, you said something similar to all the people that said the NSA were tracking everyone.
- mikeash 13y agoThey laughed at Einstein[0] but they also laughed at Bozo the Clown. The truth of one conspiracy cannot be used as evidence for the truth of others. It simply doesn't make sense. [0] They didn't really laugh at Einstein, but you get the idea.
- a1a 13y agoThe metaphor in your argument is dependent on the fact that Einstein and Bozo are two separate entities. Once Einstein[0] had published his theory of relativity people stopped laughing, and they never laughed at him again. [0] They still didn't laugh at Einstein, but you get the idea.
- mikeash 13y agoHmm, now that is really interesting! My initial reaction to your question is, "Of course they're separate entities." But then the person I'm replying to probably thinks, "Of course they're a single entity." Is that the true division between conspiracy-minded people and others?
- a1a 13y agoI don't agree with rdtsc's either, and I am not "conspiracy-minded" just because I point out that your einstein-clown argument is fallacious. Therefore I would not like to draw that line. I would however say it's a division between our views. I do believe that a government can be considered a single entity. Care to explain why you disagree?
- mikeash 13y agoThe government is a collection of a lot of different entities with different views, resources, and goals. It doesn't make sense to me to say that e.g. the FDA and the NSA are part of the same entity. Furthermore, what's being discussed involves non-government actors too. Exxon, doctors, and defense contractors are entities outside the government.