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Quote by: ZNFYRH  If you fail to prove it, a scientifically minded person does not say, "Then it doesn't exist." That person says, "Then you still have to prove it." |
If a scientifically minded person is trying to be perfectly accurate, they'll say something to the effect of "it almost certainly does not exist." This type of language is not often used because, firstly, when an extraordinarily strong inductive argument debunks another claim it is logical to disregard the opposing claim and assume what's probable: that the claim is incorrect. Linguistically, it's then acceptable to say, "No, this does not exist." Secondly, many scientists choose to take this linguistic "shorthand" version of saying things because people who are ignorant to the scientific method, either by their own choice or a lack of exposure, misinterpret this extraordinarily low probability as allowing for at least enough of a chance that the exception does exist, and therefore it's worth pursuing the alternative route. People, in most circumstances, do not respond in this irrational manner; if someone hands you a pill that is 99.99999999999999% sure to kill you, you'd be insane to decide that, because there's a 0.00000000000001% chance that you'll live, it's worth taking the pill and disregarding the warning. No, you would, as a rational person, conclude that this pill
will kill you if you take it and, instead, throw it away. ZNF, you're being caught up in the extremely improbable, which is, by very definition, irrationality.