#Science adjusts its view based on what’s observed. Faith is the denial of observation so that #belief can be preserved.
—Tim Minchin

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an #atheist vs #faith

Favorite metaphors for how science works?

I dislike the idea of a key unlocking a door - in part because it feeds the false narrative that progress happens when some genius finds the right key. It's a community effort (and many keys to many doors doesn't make so much sense - where are the doors going?).

What to replace it with? In her recent book, Nancy Cartwright uses the metaphor of a Meccano set and I had to look that up (https://www.meccano.com/en_us/products). It's a kid's building set and it's closer (but I've never heard of it).

How about Legos? The gist that a community contributes pieces to building something. Everyone knows Legos, right?

Or is that too engineering (building as opposed to discovering)? Any other ideas?

I don't see nearly enough people talking about the staggering cost to the US and allies as a result of The Former Guy's theft.

Politics is one thing, but in the Intelligence and Counterintelligence communities, there are protocols. And one protocol you can take to the bank: When a man who is known to have back channel connections to literally every one of our enemies steals a trove of classified documents, you treat every single one of them as if they are now owned by our enemies.

Let the gravity of that sink in. Every single agent mentioned is now compromised. Every agent alluded to is compromised. Every combat plan is now available for all our enemies to develop countermeasures for. Every secret plan to develop intelligence on our enemies is now a dead end.

There were nuclear secrets in there.

How do you begin to calculate the impact and cost of the enemy knowing our nuclear secrets, including potentially our plans if Putin were to launch a limited nuclear strike?

We will never know the cost of it, because it's all SUPPOSED TO BE SECRET TO PROTECT US FROM OUR ENEMIES. But however much you think it cost, it was probably more.

The Defense Department and Intelligence Community don't have the luxury of hoping he didn't make the sales we all know he made.

They have to assume he sold all of it. Whether it's ever proven or not.

This is one of the worst crimes ever committed by a US citizen against the US.