Where does the typical person go when confronted with tantalizing claims, too wonderful to ignore, but too fantastic to believe? Unless this person is able and inclined to dig into scientific literature controversy spanning many authors and years, he's likely to go to Wikipedia. It's not a bad starting place, usually.
“Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature.”
― Michael Faraday
The question is, just what are those laws of nature? As this piece rightly says, those laws change.
Nature is what she is and what we decide to believe we know about her changes a lot.
re: "Where does the typical person go when confronted with tantalizing claims, too wonderful to ignore, but too fantastic to believe?"
In the practical, there is _no_ answer to _this_ particular question.
The practical _course_ of action for the typical person is, however: Wait for it to appear in the hardware department at Walmart, shrink-wrapped and bubble-packed, and reviewed by Consumer Reports ...
It will be funny to see what happens to the Wikipedia article after Mills commercializes.
Tour de Force
Where does the typical person go when confronted with tantalizing claims, too wonderful to ignore, but too fantastic to believe? Unless this person is able and inclined to dig into scientific literature controversy spanning many authors and years, he's likely to go to Wikipedia. It's not a bad starting place, usually.
“Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature.”
― Michael Faraday
The question is, just what are those laws of nature? As this piece rightly says, those laws change.
Nature is what she is and what we decide to believe we know about her changes a lot.
re: "Where does the typical person go when confronted with tantalizing claims, too wonderful to ignore, but too fantastic to believe?"
In the practical, there is _no_ answer to _this_ particular question.
The practical _course_ of action for the typical person is, however: Wait for it to appear in the hardware department at Walmart, shrink-wrapped and bubble-packed, and reviewed by Consumer Reports ...
Painfully accurate.