I just had to tell you guys about this. This sounds exactly like
something Mostafa would say. There is a Facebook discussion group on the
subject of science that I subscribe to. It is open to all, but I would
expect that people who would subscribe would have some interest in
science and so would have some kind of knowledge of science even if only
rudimentary. Apparently that is not the case. Someone just showed up and
said that we all know that combustion requires the presence of oxygen,
so is there oxygen in the sun to make combustion take place there? Some
others started to give answers explaining that chemical combustion takes
place in the presence of oxygen, but that what is happening in the sun
is nuclear fusion. Personally, it seems to me that if a person could
seriously ask that question then it is unlikely that he would understand
such answers. I would not be surprised if he did not even know what
nuclear fusion is. I did not even bother to try to answer him. With
someone like that the only way to give a good answer would be to go back
to elementary science class and teach him that and to continue to teach
him until he finally reached a point that he could understand. This is
exactly how I feel when Mostafa asks questions like, if we descended
from monkeys then why are there still monkeys? How can you give a
meaningful answer to someone that ignorant? It is exasperating. It is
also similar to another one I saw once. I don't know if this was
supposed to be a joke, but if it wasn't it is about just as
exasperating. Someone from Nigeria once asked, if the Earth really
rotates then why am I still in Nigeria?
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Voltaire
??? Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.
???
??? Voltaire,
