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From: Bob Shell <bob@bobshell.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 06:52:55 -0400
Fwd Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 16:22:03 -0400
Subject: Re: Occam's Razor and UFOs


>From: Greg Sandow <gsandow@prodigy.net>
>To: "'UFO UpDates - Toronto'" <updates@globalserve.net>
>Subject: RE: UFO UpDate: Re: Occam's Razor and UFOs
>Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 23:24:48 -0400

>>From: RobIrving@aol.com
>>Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 09:02:09 EDT
>>To: updates@globalserve.net
>>Subject: Re: UFO UpDate: Re: Occam's Razor and UFOs

>>>From: Greg Sandow <gsandow@prodigy.net>
>>> To: "'UFO UpDates - Toronto'" <updates@globalserve.net>
>>> Subject: RE: UFO UpDate: Re: Occam's Razor and UFOs
>>> Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 10:31:04 -0400

>>Greg,

>>> Suppose we substituted "spousal abuse" for "UFOs" in what you've
>>> written here:

>>Purely as a thought experiment, now substitute Satanic Ritual
>>Abuse...

>>> Would this suggest that spousal abuse isn't real, and that
>>> complaints about it are generated simply by cultural factors?
>>> Hardly.

>>...then ask yourself the same question.

>Same answer. You can't tell -- from the mere fact that Western
>countries have reports of something, and less developed places
>don't -- whether that something is real or not.

Secondarily is the question of whether something is worth
reporting.  In Western culture UFOs don't fit, they are odd and
out of place, so they are reported.  In cultures where magic
and witchcraft are everyday matters, they may be perceived as
just another part of boring daily life and not worthy of any
special mention.  Familiarity breeds contempt, or at least
boredom.

BTW, I've been following this thread as much as time allows,
and it seems to me that old Occam's razor has gotten kind of
rusty and dull with all those years of use.

Bob