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(I suspect your comment may not be wildly popular...) I must admit, while I was mildly interested by it, it did strike me as the kind of "philosophising" that

(I suspect your comment may not be wildly popular...) I must admit, while I was mildly interested by it, it did strike me as the kind of "philosophising" that your regular bloke down the pub would find rather baffling - "I know ravens are black. You know ravens are black. Why are we even discussing this?"

mbillie1 12y ago
It is a helpful context in which to view the seemingly "logical" arguments you hear all the time from politicians and moralists of all persuasion. A reminder that a good-sounding, intuitively appealing argument can have absurd or utterly fallacious conclusions.
- astazangasta 12y ago
  Except this is exactly the opposite of that: a logically sound argument that is, intuitively, utter garbage.
Someone 12y ago
We also knew no swans are black, yet we theorized their existence (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_emblems_and_popular_culture#European_myth_and_metaphor http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_emblems_and_popula...)
Squarel 12y ago
Well, for me it is more about recognising fallacies. How often do we hear variations on the Black Swan fallacy, and how often do people fall for it,and repeat it in discussions? Your regular bloke down the pub finds Schroedinger and chaos theory rather pointless as well (And to be honest "Just make the damn box out of perspex" is a fairly sensible response to Schroedinger.), but that does not make the study of theoretical concepts and logic pointless. For example, I am fascinated by the philosophy of science, how people got to thinking something, and what was going on around them that influenced them. I am also fascinated by the anthropology surrounding the formation of religion. Both relatively pointless, but ultimately understanding why we think something helps move us forward. PS: I still think "If a tree falls...." is very baffling ;)

mbillie1 12y ago

It is a helpful context in which to view the seemingly "logical" arguments you hear all the time from politicians and moralists of all persuasion. A reminder that a good-sounding, intuitively appealing argument can have absurd or utterly fallacious conclusions.

astazangasta 12y ago
Except this is exactly the opposite of that: a logically sound argument that is, intuitively, utter garbage.

Someone 12y ago

We also knew no swans are black, yet we theorized their existence (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_emblems_and_popular_culture#European_myth_and_metaphor http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_emblems_and_popula...)

Squarel 12y ago

Well, for me it is more about recognising fallacies. How often do we hear variations on the Black Swan fallacy, and how often do people fall for it,and repeat it in discussions? Your regular bloke down the pub finds Schroedinger and chaos theory rather pointless as well (And to be honest "Just make the damn box out of perspex" is a fairly sensible response to Schroedinger.), but that does not make the study of theoretical concepts and logic pointless. For example, I am fascinated by the philosophy of science, how people got to thinking something, and what was going on around them that influenced them. I am also fascinated by the anthropology surrounding the formation of religion. Both relatively pointless, but ultimately understanding why we think something helps move us forward. PS: I still think "If a tree falls...." is very baffling ;)