<HTML>Hi Mickey,
>Too simplistic. Belief is something that a person wants to believe in, be it
>Atlantis or a religion. It's based on a belief structure and a basis which is
>unverifiable and unfalsifiable.
>Interpretation is based upon the currently available evidence, is
>verifiable, is falsifiable, and is not a guess.
Too simplistic. This assumes anybody will go ahead and verify and falsify. But a huge part of the population, and most of the non scientific part (and that is the HUGE OVERWHELMING majority) relies on what they learn in schools and read in books, which is written or taught as facts (try contradicting a teacher, I'm sure you have, you know what I mean).
What is the definition of something that is not necessarilly true but which most people consider it to be ? That's <i>belief</i>. Scientific, 'pseudo-scientific' or religious beliefs are just beliefs of different natures.
Now that I have said that, I <b>must</b> add that it doesn't mean that all those beliefs have the same intrinsic value... Between a religious and a scientific model of the creation of the world, I'll <i>probably</i> pick the scientific one if it seems sound <i>to me</i>.
Francis.</HTML>
