hmm... I am at once glad to see some discussion, and upset that it sounds somewhat hostile.
Perhaps the first truth we need to establish is the nature of this page.
But then, first, I have to stand up for geeks everywhere to disagree with Marc's statement that Physics books contain millions of true things. I would say that Physics books contain many statements that are as good as truth, but which are, in fact, not proven. "Truths" which are generally later refuted as the student delves further into the subject matter. Maybe this is what Karen meant by subjective truth -- a statement which is as good as true given the circumstances of the believer. For example, was there a massacre in Tiananmen Square? Is there a God? Will your mother always love you? Is Licensed to Ill the best album the Beastie Boys are capable of? Will the sun come out tomorrow? There is an answer to each of these questions in my head, which is good enough for me, but may not be right for you.
What were you taught to be true, that later turned out to be false? When I was two, there was a Santa Claus. My grandparents would never die. When I was ten, Scott Pause was ugly. When I was sixteen, I would never get a speeding ticket. Now I'm twenty-five, and I would say I know this much is true: I'll never be a waitress, or a single mother, or a bungee jumper, or a rock star. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think these statements are as good as true, right now. To state my point a little more blatantly still, there's no Santa Claus, three of my grandparents have passed away, Scott Pause was my first real boyfriend, and I was caught going 78 in a 65 mph zone on Christmas Eve.
And I would really like to be a rock star.
And Marc, as for your other statements, I think there's a pretty good group here. Let's not rule out the fact that it could build at any time. And I think this is the discussion. I don't disagree with any of the posted items, yet, and I'll let you know if I do... but at the same time, I'm not particularly interested in them as they stand alone. I am, on the other hand, supremely interested in what's going on down here. I think this is just great.
By the way, when I said salon below, I just meant "a salon," not salon.com, and I wanted to make sure that was clear.
kate
Posted at 16:44:40