[MD] Probability

[Case]

[Ham]
Case is taking the opposite position, but his conclusion is the same.  Based
on a piece of evidence from quantum physics, he's deduced that we're all
afflicted with uncertainty.  

[Case]
Gene has equipped him nicely in discussing the issues of particles and
nature of scientific theory. But I would like to step back a second and
point out what I said was EVEN in areas of physics and formal mathematics
uncertainty exists. While these areas are sources of insight; uncertainty is
enmeshed in our being. We don't need particle accelerators to detect it. We
have set up entire industries around it. And not just casinos and state
lotteries; there is weather forecasting, Stock market analysis, insurance,
sports, retail merchandising, agriculture. Anywhere a dynamic force meets a
static object. You have uncertainty. In fact the point I was making is that
it shows up even in the places it most assuredly should not be: physic and
math.

[Ham]
Certitude, like Truth, resides in the Absolute.  Physical existence is
finite and differentiated, so there are only relative certainties and
truths, and the individual's life is tenuous at best.  But Case doesn't
believe in the Absolute or a life purpose.  

[Case]
You and Platt were invited to provide examples of certain Truths or
Absolutes. Platt at least stepped up to the plate with a couple of examples.


I have said over and over again that I think purpose resides in each and
every one of us. 

[Ham]

Since he doesn't believe in purpose, other what man invents for himself, he
lives in constant fear that the world may collapse at any time, whether by a
collision of a black hole with the sun or an asteroid hitting the earth.  Of
course, that's possible, just as it's possible that he could suffer a heart
attack.  Does this make life purposeless or meaningless?  Not if you believe
in a transcendent source.

[Case]
Your insistence that it lies elsewhere and your description of its function
make is sound like a security blanket. Because you say I live in fear does
not make it so. For all you know I have freed myself from desire, or I have
put my trust in God's will or I self medicate. Casting aspersions on my
mental state does not clarify your position. All I am getting from you is
that I should accept your fantasy because it will make me feel better.

[Gene]:
> The moral, as I see it, is to have trust in the world that exists
> outside us. The physical world is a product of itself, and can
> be trusted to take care of itself. If I stop believing in trees, I'll
> still bust my nose up when I walk full into one.

[Ham]
If you rely on relative knowledge of a finite world, it is "trust" or
"faith" or "playing the odds" that sees you through -- maintains your
sanity, if you will.  But if that's the extent of your belief system, it's
sadly in need of intuitive insight.

[Case]
This sounds like you are making up soothing stories so you don't have to
sleep with the light on. Are you claiming to have Absolute Knowledge in an
infinite world?