Just the facts...

I'm home again...glad to be back in my own humble abode.

Been doing some writing about a few different things that cut a bit too close to the heart for public display. But once again I can rely on the usual suspects to open up a new topic to turn over in my head here.

Ponderpig brought up the issue of theories and facts and Leo further expanded...

I can't help but wish I had those two guys here sippin' tea (or whatever they prefer) and available to explore these ideas further. I have so many things I'd ask...

I think the whole notion of TRUTH seems so elusive we gorge ourselves on facts as a poor man's substitute.

Joe Friday of Dragnet fame, was always so intent on methodically getting to the facts. The updated version is CSI where we watch the amazing world of forensics "PROVE" who did or did not commit a crime.

FACTS-- what are they ? What is their relationship to truth?

I've been thoroughly schooled in scientific method of establishing a hypothesis, testing it, and then basing conclusion of what the facts are on the evidence that appears.

I have been trained to think in an empirical, linear fashion, basing my convictions on proven evidence.

But all the graduate school mountain of probability and statistics or advanced research methods classes gave no room for things I know as truth that I have no solid evidence for.

My heart rages with passion and faith and curiosity that have nothing to do with proof and evidence.

In most cases I think we puny humans (not so sure about talking pigs) are deleting machines, manipulating the haphazard, contradictory stuff of life to confirm whatever it is we've already decided to believe. We START with a belief or an assumption, opinion or prejudice; Then we either discount, contradict or just plain fail to notice any evidence to the contrary of what we hold to be true. That's our deletion machine in action. Whatever signs or events would confirm our previous assumptions we underline and capitalize and print out in big bold letters as PROOF we were right all along. We feel so justified, vindicated, validated by our "facts."

I think most people are uncomfortable with ambiguity. "Facts" comfort with a tangible sense of weightiness and authority.

But the problem with "facts" is they are like the definitions in a dictionary. A dictionary is not any sort of definitive record of the CORRECT meaning of words. All a dictionary actually provides is a HISTORICAL RECORD of how words were used in a given language at a given time. Language is a living, fluid thing that changes. Words shift, those slippery devils. So new dictionaries have words used in different ways from old dictionaries. BOTH are considered correct for the time they were in use.

I have an old chemistry book which states that ATOMS are the smallest matter in existence in the universe. Uh, sorry - what about protons and electrons? Oh yeah, we didn't get THOSE puppies until we had electron microscopes to measure them.

Then again, one of the interesting things about quantum physics is the discovery that the very act of observing and measuring some phenomena (such as particles and waves) can alter them. So does looking change the facts?

Then there is also the whole issue of who or what is a credible source for facts? Years ago I dated a guy who was a news director at a rock 'n' roll radio station and he taught me to be rather skepical of what I heard or saw in media and for any who feel like taking the time to bother with the download the movie clip on that last hot link would certainly support that...

It's late and I'm tired. So I'm off to bed. But I think there is more here to chew on... perhaps another day.