When this happens to me, I often try to explain how 100% certainty (or 0%) is a mathematical concept that’s incompatible with how evidence is actually gathered (which they’ll usually nod along to, unless they see where this is going), and then proceed to explain how this means that the word “certainty” does not, in fact, mean 100%.
This has yet to convince anyone. I should probably think of something else.
When this happens to me, I often try to explain how 100% certainty (or 0%) is a mathematical concept that’s incompatible with how evidence is actually gathered (which they’ll usually nod along to, unless they see where this is going), and then proceed to explain how this means that the word “certainty” does not, in fact, mean 100%.
This has yet to convince anyone. I should probably think of something else.