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Posted by Mario Dovalina on July 27, 2001 16:48:38 UTC

Unless I am completely missing Dick's point, he's saying that since our senses stand between us and reality, and our senses perform some kind of modification on any given input, nothing is totally reliable.

So what do you consider 100% accurate? Especially since you seem to be one of Dick's strongest supporters, I would think you would agree that nothing is certain.

"The first reaction people have to Dick's ideas is, "oh, this guy is trying to convince me that nothing can be known for sure and that's a very dangerous line of thinking, even though it's true"."

My problem isn't Dick's theory. I think that if people use it so they won't get stuck in a rut of stubborn ignorance, it's great. I fear, though, that it will be interpreted by many as a METHOD of getting stuck in a rut of stubborn ignorance.

There are three kinds of reactions people will have to Dick's work. "Since I can't know anything, it means my position is never totally solid, but I still want to be as accurate as possible", "Since I can't know anything, no one can disprove my seemingly delusional beliefs" and "Since I can't know anything, I won't even try, and I'll laugh at the scientists who futilely try and understand nature." To me, the first interpretation is beneficial, useful, and enlightening. The other two are destructive.

So, anyway, I agree with you and Dick: I'm just afraid of how it will come across.

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