wrote:
posted by Tapio Kohonen [B Hmm...I do not get it, maybe you know more
details about this than I do. Is it not quite possible that a helmet
might have saved her, if she was not run over by the cement mixer, but
just knocked down?
Tapio


Yeah Tapio, perhaps it might be possible and indeed it is conceivabl
that (insert here whatever you are motivated to believe or wish to b
the case). You could similarly argue that (within some bounds) anythin
is possible if it's conceivable - but for one thing there's a
expectation shared by some of us that newspaper headlines shouldn't b
at the mercy of hijackers who want to inflict and infect others wit
their pet beliefs. Those of us who take issue with this have a
expectation that journalistic reporting should try to stick to reportin
facts, impartially and with balance (admittedly that's a rather hopefu
expectation) rather than using its ability to influence in aid o
championing its own pet cause

As other posters have pointed out (on another thread) there's a ga
between what can be considered possible (which is speculative) and wha
is empirically probable (i.e. based on evidence and knowledge). Many o
us prefer rigorous reasoning and the standards of science rather tha
the anxiety alleviating comfort that is afforded in the wishful thinkin
of what might be possible

If there's any reluctance to acknowledge that "it is possible that...
then this reticence is, I would suggest, in response to the tendency
typical of some, to turn what's only possible into something that i
clearly not

Roge


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