• cynar@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    The belief would be that your senses aren’t being actively deceived. Also, that you’re not a Boltzmann brain hallucinating in the void.

    I personally believe all the axioms of science apply. It’s still fun to poke at them.

    • lime!@feddit.nu
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      3 hours ago

      the atheist says “i will not believe”. the agnostic says “i can not believe”. one is as dogmatic as the beliefs they purport to refute, the other lacks the capacity for dogma, as belief for them is simply not possible.

      • cynar@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        Belief in a null is a lot more reasonable than belief in something so powerful it can pretend to be a null.

        Belief that I am not in a Truman show like environment is a lot more reasonable (without evidence) than belief that I am in a Truman show, and they are doing a perfect job.

        That doesn’t mean I don’t try disproving the null hypothesis.

        • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          31 minutes ago

          I don’t think reasonable is even it for me, it’s just a helpful assumption.

          If they are doing a perfect job at a Truman show type situation, there’s nothing you can do, so you might as well assume they’re not and play your role.

        • lime!@feddit.nu
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          2 hours ago

          a hypothesis based on established facts is no longer belief but extrapolation.

          • cynar@lemmy.world
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            1 hour ago

            It’s an assumption, not an extrapolation. Assumptions, without evidence are beliefs.

            We assume several unprovable axioms to allow science to function. A lot of work has also been done to collapse them down to the core minimum. What is left is still built on belief.

            The fact that the results are useful back validates those beliefs. It doesn’t prove them however.

            • lime!@feddit.nu
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              1 hour ago

              we’re comparing it to a system where none of that has been done. it’s sort of a “god of the gaps” situation but the gaps are shaped exactly like pieces in a puzzle. we can extrapolate the form of the proof even if we can’t show it. the same is not true of the other camp.

              • cynar@lemmy.world
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                1 hour ago

                You say that, but, if the universe has an infinite lifespan (as current models suggest) then we would almost certainly be Boltzmann brains. (There would be an infinite amount of Boltzmann brains, but only a finite number of humans)

                I personally believe I am not, and the universe actually exists, rather than a sensory/memory ghost.