12 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Asimov on Believing Fantastic Things
I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.Folksonomies: empiricism
Folksonomies: empiricism
Very similar to Sagan's "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
18 APR 2011 by ideonexus
A Story of Intellectual Wits from Arabian Nights
Moslem women scholars are not recorded in the historical texts, their existence is at least testified to by stories from the / Arabian Nights.^^ The compelling legend of the Arab slave-girl Tawaddud reminds us that even the most patriarchal of cultures have recognised the scholarly achievements of women. Her story occupied Shaharazad from the 436th through the 462nd of the Arabian nights. When Abu al-Husn of Baghdad found himself destitute, his beautiful young slave Tawaddud proposed that h...The slave girl Tawaddud bests a collection of scholars in a battle of knowledge.