Or you could make a direct observation, (such as by weighing it with a fine tool, or placing it on a balancing tool) and know.
And in the absence of the ability to make direct observations? If there are two eye-witness testimonies to a crime, and one of the eye-witnesses is a notorious liar with every incentive to lie, and one of them is famous for his honesty and has no incentive to lie—which way would you have your judgment lean?
SPOCK: “If I let go of a hammer on a planet that has a positive gravity, I need not see it fall to know that it has in fact fallen. [...] Gentlemen, human beings have characteristics just as inanimate objects do. It is impossible for Captain Kirk to act out of panic or malice. It is not his nature.”
I very much like this quote, because it was one of the first times when I saw determinism, in the sense of predictability, being ennobling.
If there are two eye-witness testimonies to a crime
I have already stated that witness testimonials are valid for weighting beliefs. In the somewhere-parent topic of authorities; this is the equivalent of referencing the work of an authority on a topic.
And in the absence of the ability to make direct observations? If there are two eye-witness testimonies to a crime, and one of the eye-witnesses is a notorious liar with every incentive to lie, and one of them is famous for his honesty and has no incentive to lie—which way would you have your judgment lean?
SPOCK: “If I let go of a hammer on a planet that has a positive gravity, I need not see it fall to know that it has in fact fallen. [...] Gentlemen, human beings have characteristics just as inanimate objects do. It is impossible for Captain Kirk to act out of panic or malice. It is not his nature.”
I very much like this quote, because it was one of the first times when I saw determinism, in the sense of predictability, being ennobling.
I have already stated that witness testimonials are valid for weighting beliefs. In the somewhere-parent topic of authorities; this is the equivalent of referencing the work of an authority on a topic.