JS-Kit/Echo comments for article at http://smallestminority.blogspot.com/2010/03/quote-of-day-reality-edition.html (8 comments)

  Tentative mapping of comments to original article, corrections solicited.

jsid-1267883413-40  Unix-Jedi at Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:50:13 +0000

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice there is.


When I was working for the FedGov, I had a co-worker say that often to describe the situation.

Needless to say, it fit the description of the situation perfectly, and has stuck with me since.


jsid-1267899656-781  Stormy Dragon at Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:20:56 +0000

Given that the only purpose of a theory is to model reality, in what sense is a theory that doesn't correspond to reality "beautiful"?


jsid-1267901416-779  khbaker at Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:50:17 +0000

Um, Communism? (Just as one example)  Or "Anthropogenic Global Warming"? (For another.)


jsid-1267905885-891  TheSiliconGraybeard at Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:04:45 +0000

How about "Reality is that which doesn't go away when you stop believing in it"?  Not sure of the source.

Coincidentally my (grown/moved out/married) son and I have been discussing this topic by email this week.  What started it was running across a story on Dr. Sanity about a reporter fired by the Altanta Progressive News for believing there is such a thing as reality:

"At a very fundamental, core level, Springston did not share our vision for a news publication with a progressive perspective. He held on to the notion that there was an objective reality that could be reported objectively, despite the fact that that was not our editorial policy at Atlanta Progressive News. It just wasn’t the right fit."  (APN comments). 

Maybe I'm just an old engineer, but that belief that they espouse, that there is no such thing as objective reality, is one of the horses the coming apocalypse is riding on.  We don't need to balance a budget, we need to spend our way out of it, despite reality screaming it doesn't work.  We need to get guns off the street, despite the reality screaming every time you take guns from honest people, crime and death goes up. 

As you say, Kevin, "do it again, only harder"  :-D


jsid-1267918736-804  Ken at Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:38:57 +0000

Reality relativists claim the chair isn't there, but they sit in it anyway.


jsid-1267919523-818  GrumpyOldFart at Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:52:03 +0000

If there is no spoon, then why is there soup?


jsid-1267928360-916  DJ at Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:19:36 +0000

"Existence exists." -- Ayn Rand

"Existence doesn't care if you like it or not. Think what you like; it's still there." -- Me


jsid-1267949284-74  VoxAZ at Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:08:04 +0000

For some reason I keep imagining "We'd have gotten away with it too if not for those kids and their pesky reality"


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