[The Random Factor] [The Random Factor #21] The eye of the beholder

[The Random Factor]

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 Riddles & Facts & Quotes, Oh My!
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"Before the coming of the white man to the 
north, Eskimos believed that if they cut 
slabs of ice, organized them in a circle, 
formed a dome, and lived inside they would 
please the spirits. Apparently the plan worked. 
The contented spirits made sure the Eskimos 
stayed warm even when the temperature dipped 
to 40 below zero outside.

Eventually, Western scientists showed up and 
tried to explain how the Eskimos had mastered
 an invisible force called thermodynamics.

According to these presumptions foreigners, 
the igloo's tunnel-like entrance preheated 
outside air, the movable snowball door let 
in precisely the amount of this air that could 
be further warmed by the seal-oil lamp inside, 
and the adjustable hole in the roof allowed 
just enough of the resulting rising currents 
out to create the convection that kept the 
whole thing going." - Bloom, Howard: (From 
The Lucifer Principle, a scientific expedition 
into the forces of history)

The obvious skeptic argument here is just because 
these Eskimos miraculously mastered the art of 
thermodynamics does not necessarily mean they 
learned it from 'spirits.'

But, what's a bit strange about that conclusion 
is that if these same Eskimos were eye-witness 
to a crime, and they all pointed out one person 
as the culprit, we would not hesitate to convict 
based on their testimony. 

Funny how that works.


Some Guy


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the stimuli in which it's rooted.

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