# What Do You Believe is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480 "2005-01-06T23:52:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![sanfaustino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@sanfaustino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sanfaustino)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/61 "2005-01-07T16:34:47Z")
> [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](#): > > That the Cubs _WILL_ win the World Series (in my lifetime). You must be a lot younger than me! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/62 "2005-01-07T16:50:02Z")
Life expectancy will increase dramatically in the next few decades, reaching 100 years on average by 2030. Around the same time or shortly after it will be discovered that it is possible to end non-accidental deaths and increase the lifespan indefinately through the use of stem cell therapies. I also believe that in the next 60-70 years there will be breakthroughs in genetic engineering already living creatures, and that a struggle of ethics will wage for several decades. Eventually the struggle will win and humans will alter themselves in ways we of this day and age would find appalling. Of course no evidence exists, because it hasn’t happened yet. I could though! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/63 "2005-01-07T17:04:53Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > I believe that every even number greater than two is the sum of two primes. Ummm…have ou met my good friend number eleven? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/64 "2005-01-07T17:06:49Z")
I believe the universe is real. I believe the universe is deterministic. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/65 "2005-01-07T17:09:27Z")
I believe that almost all people who believe in god wouldn’t believe in him/her at all if they were not told about him until they reached the age of 21 (or maybe even 8). I believe that well over 50% of cases of crib death, and maybe more than 95%, are caused by parents smothering their children. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/66 "2005-01-07T17:11:04Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Ummm…have ou met my good friend number eleven? Have you met my good friend, “eleven isn’t even”? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/67 "2005-01-07T17:13:46Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I believe that the interval between zero and one is equal to the interval between one and two, but I couldn’t prove it if you held a gun to my head, and offered me unlimited Elixer of Life\* if I could do it. (carrot and stick) Quite clearly they’re not equal, as they have different members. What specifically did you have in mind? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/68 "2005-01-07T17:15:09Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Ummm…have ou met my good friend number eleven? :smack: Pretend I never wrote that… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/69 "2005-01-07T17:52:06Z")
I like the caveat that [CAROLYN PORCO](http://www.edge.org/q2005/q05_2.html#porco) gave before she answered the question. > [@](#): > > This is a treacherous question to ask, and a trivial one to answer. Treacherous because the shoals between the written lines can be navigated by some to the conclusion that truth and religious belief develop by the same means and are therefore equivalent. To those unfamiliar with the process by which scientific hunches and hypotheses are advanced to the level of verifiable fact, and the exacting standards applied in that process, the impression may be left that the work of the scientist is no different than that of the prophet or the priest. How many times have we heard that atheism is a form of faith? I’ll also go with her answer. I believe there is life somewhere else in the cosmos. I believe people are basically kind and well-meaning, just often misguided. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/70 "2005-01-07T18:03:04Z")
I believe in the existence of ghosts though I do not pretend to be able to prove it. I am usually a very rational and skeptical person (most would call me an atheist), and I believe that people like Van Praagh and John Edward and Sylvia Brown, to paraphrase His Divine Grace Cecil, “are to bullshit what Stonehenge is to pebbles”, but I have had experiences that I do not believe were the result of brain chemistry or lighting or consciousness altering substances (which I’ve never used) and experiences that have been exactly replicated by others. I _do_ believe that whatever ghosts are they are ultimately explicable by scientific laws (something to do with time and space, for example- I’ve never believed that the “ghosts” I’ve seen were trying to communicate- it was more like I was seeing something that wasn’t there anymore- some sort of intersection in time), but… And I believe that I am destined to spend eternity with Jude Law, his insistence on proving his “heterosexuality” notwithstanding (three kids in four years, Jude? That’s just a bit of overkill don’t you think? You’re so in denial— I’m just glad he has the money to pay for Swiss boarding schools for the lot of them). ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/71 "2005-01-07T18:11:18Z")
The world would be a better place if religion never existed. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/72 "2005-01-07T18:19:27Z")
[String theory](http://superstringtheory.com/) is always fun to watch mathematicians & astro physicists mull over. In what turned out to be the meltdown of 2001, I remember posting this Q in GD: What if: Our Sol is but one nucleus & the Earth just one electron of Our solar system being one atom of Our Milky Way Galaxy being just one molecule and Our Universe just one brain cell of…a creator. That makes you and I as insignificant as sub-atomic quarksThe replies from the SDSAB types here that shot down the theory were a great read…even though it was over my head ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/73 "2005-01-07T18:20:30Z")
Along the lines of **Sampiro’s** belief in ghosts, I believe in Faeries. I have had odd experiences that have reinforced this belief, but because of the subjective nature of the experiences, there is no way for me to prove it to other people. My only defense is that a couple of the mystical sightings were shared with other people. And yes, I am generally a skeptic in all thing supernatural and religious. But I believe this regardless of knowing what sort of physical, mental or outside influences that may have caused my experiences. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/74 "2005-01-07T18:25:09Z")
> [@TheFaerie](#): > > I have had odd experiences that have reinforced this belief, but because of the subjective nature of the experiences, there is no way for me to prove it to other people. My only defense is that a couple of the mystical sightings were shared with other people. [hijack]Well?! You can’t leave us hanging on something like that![/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/75 "2005-01-07T18:35:44Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I believe that people like Van Praagh and John Edward and Sylvia Brown, to paraphrase His Divine Grace Cecil, “are to bullshit what Stonehenge is to pebbles” I haven’t seen Van Praagh nor Sylvia Brown, but I believe it is obvious that John Edward is very good at what he does. Of course what he does is an old-time style mentalist act, **not** being a medium. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/76 "2005-01-07T18:55:22Z")
I believe that there actually is a Cecil Adams, and he takes an interest in what goes on in the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/77 "2005-01-07T18:57:36Z")
I believe in all the Protestant Christian stuff. I believe that things are true simply because I believe in them. (So, “My belief makes it true,” ratther than “I believe because It’s true.”) I believe that there is no need for me to learn to spell, and have perfect grammer. I believe that the exact moment that someone becomes drunk enough to black out, that all universal truths are revealed, but since that person blacked out, they don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/78 "2005-01-07T19:23:30Z")
I believe that other minds exist, and that they are fundamently similar to my own. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/79 "2005-01-07T19:42:43Z")
I believe in God in more than one form. I believe in Magic. Not pull a rabbit from your hat magic, but real magic. Although I have never seen any. I think everything in the universe is connected at some level. If we ever figure out how we will be like Gods…I also feel sure the universe will be destroyed shortly after. I believe in quantum immortality. I also believe Cecil is a vampire of some sort, and thats why we never see his picture! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480/80 "2005-01-07T19:51:27Z")
> [@](#): > > What Do You Believe is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It? I believe no one is truly “born” a homosexual. I believe it’s a result of environmental factors, or a conscience choice. I do not believe ADD is a disease. I believe it’s a behavior acquired as a result of bad parenting. I believe most Democrats want the U.S. to become a socialist nation. I believe some dopers will reply to this post with a “rolleyes icon” and call me “ignorant,” despite that fact that they don’t have any proof to the contrary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-believe-is-true-even-though-you-cannot-prove-it/283480.md?page=5)