On Jun 27, 3:23 pm, "Brenda Ann" wrote:
"bpnjensen" wrote in message

oups.com...

- that magic 100%

may never be reached.

Oopsies... hit the wrong button on that last one.

Question for you:

Is there ANYTHING that can be proved to the standards and expectations of
100% of any given group of people? It has been 'proven' that the Earth is a
sphere, and that it revolves around the Sun.... but there are still at least
thousands of people that believe otherwise.

On the first point - yes, the magic 100% probably will not be reached
on black holes - but 75% and climbing may be good enough for most of
us forever :-)

Your example of the earth being round may not quite be the best
analogy, for two reasons -

One - the earth *is* factually approximately spherical, and this can
be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt several different ways. Even the
ancient Greeks knew it. There are some phenomenae and evidence for
which there can be no other scientific explanation (the most stunning
of which are direct photographs from space). People who choose to
ignore it - well, it's their choice to be ignorant. Black holes may
factually exist, but there are still other possible ways to explain
the evidence that shows up, and until those ways are all discarded
(and granted, they may be someday), black holes are still not quite
there.

Two - belief by 100% of the population, or any other fraction, is not
a prerequisite for something, either a statement or a theory, being
correct or factual. The earth is either round or it isn't, regardless
of what people may choose to believe. Black holes either exist as
postulated or they do not, irrespective of the opinions of us mere
Newtonian-reference-frame mortals. It matters not whether people are
around when the proverbial tree falls in the forest - it makes a
sound, or at least the mechanical waves that, if heard, would be a
sound.

Bruce