This question may be overly general or overly naive, but, with the SDMB as an easily accessible resource I thought I’d ask anyways.
I was thinking about the limits of human understanding and about last centuries various scientific developments (in the fields of psychology, physics, etc.), and I wondered if it would be reasonable to say that anything is possible, anything at all. One could say that faster than light travel is impossible, but that statement is based on the confines of our knowledge of physics. Same thing with telekinesis, or even the medieval concept of magic.
Basically, since we don’t know, much less understand, reality, is anything, conceivable and unconceivable, possible?
Note: take notice of my post count if I’ve offended ye in some way.
No, I don’t believe it’s correct to say that anything is possible. Certainly there are some things where we don’t know if it’s possible or not to do them
There are others that look very much as if they are truly impossible due to the nature of the universe, but we might be wrong about all that (although it is pretty unlikely that we will be so wrong as to make the things possible).
Then there are things which are logically impossible (making a circular triangle, setting up an immovable object and applying an irresistable force to it).
IMHO, sometimes, arguments comparing the ignorance (and subsequent surprise) of people in the past regarding what they considered possible, to things that are considered impossible in the light of current knowledge are bordering on logical fallacy (related in some way, I feel, to [url=“http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/distract/ig.htm”]Argument from ignorance)
As I said in the other thread; the fact that, at age 4, I thought five plus five was six and that now, at age 35, I believe it to be ten, doesn’t mean that when I’m 65, I’ll laugh about how naive I was thinking five plus five equals ten.
As ignorance increases, the possibilities decrease, not the other way around. It just gets harder to decide what’s possible in the absence of knowledge. If the world worked as you imply, Cecil would would have wisely chosen the motto “Suckin Down Cold Ones Since 1973”, just to keep open the possibilities. Except in highly abstracted discussions, the phrase “anything’s possible” amounts to an admission or endorsement of ignorance. Knowledgeable people will jump on you for it.
-Welcome to the SDMB.
I understand now that my question was overly general, as I though it might be. I would never endorse ignorance nor accept ‘anything’s possible’ as a sufficient answer to any question asked within the confines of my knowledge. Anything beyond those confines I would answer with either a ‘probably no’ or a ‘probably yes.’ Saying that faster than light travel is probably not doable is reasonable. Saying that faster than light travel is not possible is unreasonable because that statement is based on E=mc^2, which may one day shown to be false, but I understand that we have to work with what we have. What I was asking in my OP (to be less overly general) is whether any future event is possible. But since then (which was a good hour or so ago), with the constructive replies given, I’ve come to the conclusion that the question is more of a ‘what is knowledge’ question, of which I can read about at the library.
Anything that overturns a theory must provide adequate explanations for all of the observed phenomena, and in the case of modern physics that is saying much; it’s more likely that we would find that E=mc[sup]2[/sup] is the expression of a larger set of rules.
1.) It is impossible to make someone love you when his/her heart belongs to another.
2.) It is impossible to provide concrete proof of God’s existance.
3.) It is impossible for an abortion clinic to have a waiting list longer than 9 months.
4.) It is impossible to force an addict to quit when they don’t believe they have a problem.
5.) It is impossible for me to list everything that is impossible as I am at work and my boss is giving me the evil eye.
Not true; I am informed that many women really enjoy the whole casual sex/immorality/mocking God/abortion cycle; it’s possible that these people would book in advance or even have some sort of pass card.