-=> Quoting Paul Walker to Sean Mccullough <=-

>SM> FACTS are repeatably observable phenomena. BeLIEfs are lies
>SM> -- ALL OF THEM,

PW> I believe that the earth is roughly spherical, and that it
PW> orbits a star. Discuss.

Belief is defined variously as "faith in that which is unevidenced". Inasmuch as the near sphericity of this planet and it's habit of listening to the lecturer in celestial mechanics class and doing what the laws of physics demand is not a matter of belief; as they are both documented, evidenced facts.

You may "believe" in these facts; but that belief is neither rational nor necessary; precisely as the converse is also a truism. Your "belief" in these facts does nothing whatsoever to alter the fact that they are just that: facts. Do you "believe" in gravity? Do you "believe" in germ theory? If not, the results of you snorting a Petri dish full of active Rhinovirus while plummeting from the 103'rd floor observation platform of the Sears Tower will be preciesly the same as if you did "believe" in them.

But, let's be honest: you really don't "believe" in what you posted, you agent provacateur, do you? You do rather think that the earth is really a spherical (nearly) body and it makes an annual circumprocession of a yellow star, don't you?

Now. That settled. Let's tack off unto the crux of Sean's contention, re: belief in the supernatural. Now, there's grist for the mill.

Your little gedankenexperiment was easily disarmed. Care to wander downrange and shag a few incoming 105's on this latter subject?

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