# Yes, dammit, one CAN prove a fucking negative **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846 "2005-07-23T21:08:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846/81 "2005-07-28T03:43:02Z")
[A bit ago, I made this thread asking the same thing.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296481) That coming from personal experience, by the way. On another board, people were accusing me of being something I wasn’t, but with no proof. They then said that I didn’t have any proof NOT showing I wasn’t it either…and it just didn’t make sense to me. This has no point to the topic at hand other then just saying that it may be possible to prove a negative…but I’d think it would be pretty damn hard, if so. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846/82 "2005-07-28T08:55:44Z")
Another warm welcome back to **Spiritus**. This messsage board just improved immensely the instant he clicked ‘Submit Reply’. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846/83 "2005-07-28T11:01:50Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > As we know, > There are known knowns. > There are things we know we know. > We also know > There are known unknowns. > That is to say > We know there are some things > We do not know. > But there are also unknown unknowns, > The ones we don’t know > We don’t know. > > –Donald Rumsfeld Wow. Sheer poetry. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846/84 "2005-07-28T11:11:09Z")
> [@Spiritus Mundi](#): > > **Lib** (A new nick? You can’t disguise that inimitable style.) > > I’ve been better; I’ve been worse; but mostly I’ve been insanely busy. I missed this place, but I had to scale back my time to necessities for a while. > > Thanks for the wam welcome. Tuba changed my username, oh, maybe six months ago. I was inspired by [this Von Mises volume](http://www.mises.org/liberal.asp). I don’t know how exposed you’ve been to Sentient, but together you two make an utterly formidable defense of materialism/physicalism. And both of you have intellects so keen that you could even argue the opposite side compellingly. It is good to know that the best debates are still ahead. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846/85 "2005-07-28T12:02:18Z")
I look forward to regularly exposing myself to **Spiritus** whether he likes it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846/86 "2005-07-28T15:03:40Z")
I’ll withhold judgment until I see the bulk of the evidence. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846/87 "2005-07-28T17:24:46Z")
Wow, and I only had to pay some $8 odd dollars for this? I feel like I’m cheating the gods. Anyway, I too, welcome the whole lot of you to future debates. I’ve enjoyed and learned a lot from this thread so far. Keep it up fellas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yes-dammit-one-can-prove-a-fucking-negative/313846.md?page=4)