Mark Whittington continues to make false and unsupportable claims about my writings and beliefs:
Rand Simberg thinks that the idea that the Chinese might behave badly in space is–well–delusional. He doesn’t say why, which tells me quite a bit.
I don’t say why I “think” that for a very simple reason–because I don’t think that, except in Mark’s bizarre imagination, and as I’ve said in the past, Mark is unable to actually provide any evidence that I do. Apparently Mark is unable to get his mind around the (what should be) simple concept that I might find his fantasy a fantasy for some reason other than some misguided view of the benignity of Chinese intentions.
Jon Goff offers just one reason (there are others, involving basic logistics, economics and physics) that Mark’s scenario is so hilariously illogical and implausible, that has nothing to do with the intent or goals of the Chinese government.
[Update in the afternoon]
Oh, this is too much:
Rand Simberg, in essence, calls me a liar without, as far as I can tell, proving it. It’s sad when some people can’t engage in debate without engaging in that kind of behavior.
As I note in comments, Mark is apparently as clueless about the meaning of the word “lie” and “liar” as those who foolishly continue to claim that “Bush lied, people died.” So once, again, he accuses me of saying something that I didn’t. Anyone can see above that I accused him of making a false statement. It is possible to make false statements without lying–all it requires is a belief (no matter how mistaken, or deluded) that the statement is true. So, since I haven’t called him a “liar,” I rationally felt no need to “prove” that he was one.
As for proving that his statement is false, that’s kind of problematic, since that would involve proving a negative–that is, I would have to somehow prove that I have never, anywhere, made the statement that he accuses me of making. More specifically, I would have to prove that I have never attributed non-malign intent to the Chinese government, either in space, or on earth. (I should note that anyone familiar with my writings would know that I don’t trust the Chinese government any farther than I can toss Tiananmen Square, but perhaps Mark has been too busy making up things that I supposedly write to pay attention to things that I actually do write).
Anyone familiar with logic (unlike, apparently, for example, Mark) knows that it’s impossible to prove a negative (though it’s possible to develop a high level of confidence about the falsity if sufficient effort is undertaken to search for affirmative evidence, with no results).
But there’s a solution to this problem, accepted in science and courtrooms for centuries. Mark has made a positive claim about me, which I contend is false. Positive claims, however, can be substantiated. Thus, the burden of proof is on him. Since he continues to filibuster, and ignore my demand that he prove his multiple false statements about my statements and beliefs, of which this is just the most recent, I guess we’ll just have to let the audience decide.