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Sunday, September 6, 2015

Skepticism is healthy, cynicism is not.  Skepticism is to demand evidence for things that are less than obviously true, and never accept things because they are "human." The universe is what it is regardless of our wishes and fantasies.

Anything is possible, that does not mean anything is real, nor does it mean we should accept explanations for things that do not fit with reality.  In such cases the appropriate response is just that we don't know.  I think miracles are impossible by definition -- anything we think is a miracle either has a more mundane explanation or is just a sample of technology we don't understand.  It is possible Santa Clause could pop into existence in my garage (according to what the quantum people tell us), and if he did so it would not be a miracle but just a quantum event.  If Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, it was not a miracle but just his ability to maneuver the universe to make him live -- a modern doctor might have been able to as well, or a future doctor.

All that said, the wise course is to withhold belief and wait for further evidence.  Odds are overwhelming a debunking will come along -- tricks and misunderstandings and delusions and pious frauds are far more common than violations of physics.

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