Posts from Sunday, January 5th, 2003

Suppostulatory Arguments

Published 21 years, 2 months past

I swore I was going to continue to stay out of the whole sorry mess (after my one post, I mean), but Ian‘s injunction brought the following passage to mind:

“You can prove anything you want by coldly logical reason—if you pick the proper postulates.  We have ours and Cutie has his.”

“Then let’s get at those postulates in a hurry.  The storm’s due tomorrow.”

Powell sighed wearily.  “That’s where everything falls down.  Postulates are based on assumptions and adhered to by faith.  Nothing in the Universe can shake them. I’m going to bed.”

–Isaac Asimov, Reason (1941)

Please note that absolutely no other correlations between the cited story and the situation at hand are intended, and should probably not be inferred.  (Like that will stop anyone.)


Browse the Archive