I find myself concocting a cartoon:
A geek with a triple Ph.D. is a passenger in a plane. The plane is 60 seconds away from flying directly into a brick wall. Meanwhile, the geek is feverishly punching numbers into a calculator.
Geek: "According to my calculations, the argument that a brick wall exists cannot be definitively and logically given more weight than the argument that a brick wall does not exist."
Pilot: "Geek, I agree with your logic, 100%. That said, I think I will arbitrarily, randomly, and rashly decide to turn this plane upward, ASAP!!"
This makes me think of a scene in a Star Trek episode featuring crusty old Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock. A crisis was at hand. Spock was saying something like, "I cannot calculate with precision the proper course of action," to which McCoy replied, "Dammit, Spock, then you'll just have to guess!" Spock's replied, "Then I shall make the best guess I can."
Dr. Sudduth, what is your best guess of the mechanism for physically verifiable deathbed assertions (e.g., Aunt Tillie just unexpectedly died 3000 miles away) not explainable in conventional ways? If this were an episode of Final Jeopardy for all the marbles, what would be your "Hail Mary" answer?
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BTW, an aside: I am going to start using my real name, which is James Oeming (formerly "A Comma in Infinity").
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