senki

The worse belief is that science has anything to do with belief. Or, I believe so...

Just use an unsupported browser (Opera)!

Honoured Sir,

Understanding you to be a distinguished algebraist (that is, distinguished from other algebraists by different face, different height, etc.), I beg to submit to you a difficulty which distresses me much.

If x and y are each equal to 1, it is plain that

2 * (x^2 - y^2) = 0, and also that 5 * (x - y) = 0.

Hence 2 * (x^2 - y^2) = 5 * (x - y).

Now divide each side of this equation by (x - y).

Then 2 * (x + y) = 5.

But (x + y) = (1 + 1), i.e. = 2. So that 2 * 2 = 5.

Ever since this painful fact has been forced upon me, I have not slept more than 8 hours a night, and have not been able to eat more than 3 meals a day.

I trust you will pity me and will kindly explain the difficulty to Your obliged,

Lewis Carroll.

It doesn't matter anyways.

It's not prior knowledge but a prior conjecture. If you know something, you know it for sure.

A good example of a priori knowledge: "All bachelors are unmarried". This is true, because it's so by definition, it's probability == 1. The effect of boxing is not so obvious as you claim (prior probability that repeat head trauma causes damage: <1), and should be verified. See also roel_v's responses in this sub-thread.

It's like homeopathy. No analysis necessary, it's just works, you know.

Good idea. They already do it.