Re: maize in Europe and India: a twisted tale
Douglas Weller (dweller@ramtops.demon.co.uk)
Sun, 29 Dec 1996 09:06:52 GMT
On 29 Dec 1996 07:03:42 GMT, yuku@io.org (Yuri Kuchinsky) wrote:
actually the bit below is a quote that he has posted:
> lack of evidence. That is, some people claim that the fact that there
> is no evidence proves something. This is called an argument from
> silence. It must be rejected for lack of evidence. There are a number
> of rules of logic that apply in a simple way to the interpretation of
> data.
>
The key phrase is 'proves something'. I'd agree that lack of evidence can't
be used as _proof_. But it can be used to show that something is extremely
unlikely, ie can be put in the same category as 'aliens guided early
civilizations', etc. That's possible, who can prove it's impossible? But it's
not something we have to take seriously without serious evidence.
Lack of evidence may not prove anything, but it can be a major obstacle to
suggesting something is likely.
--
Doug Weller Moderator, sci.archaeology.moderated
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