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Originally Posted by willravel
When I was a boy, I witnessed lightning strike a man. Clearly it would be irresponsible to ever put yourself in a position where lightning could strike you, therefore (instead of making normal, reasonable, common sense decisions about how to reasonably avoid lightning strikes like not golfing during a thunder storm) we should allow the free market to build a system of lighting rods wherever there are pedestrians.
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Originally Posted by Wikipedia
To "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw man argument" is to describe a position that superficially resembles an opponent's actual view but is easier to refute, then attribute that position to the opponent (for example, deliberately overstating the opponent's position).
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Come on, will. Don't set up irrelevant comparisons. Do you not see how someone must prepare based not only on odds but on potential consequences? They don't have "lightning-defense classes" or "Lightining Prevention and Awareness" classes. They do have these things for rape, murder and assault. You know that your comparison isn't apt, because lightning is a chance event that is nothing like rape, sodomy, murder and assault. Think about the family of a lightning-strike victim, and then think of the family of those above.
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Originally Posted by JinnKai
Not only should we consider the likelihood, but we should consider the consequences, in the event that that probability is realized. What are the CONSEQUENCES to my physical and mental being if I'm that "1" in the probability? People prepare for unlikely things just because they recognize that in the unlikely chance it does happen, the time spend preparing would be pay dividends compared to the consequence.
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__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel
Last edited by Jinn; 06-05-2008 at 10:54 AM..
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