If it hasn't been proven or observed it is only a hypothesis. Stefan Lanka has challenged the world to produce the proof of any virus. Science has made the claim that viruses exist and built whole industries on it.
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" Sagan
"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence" Hitchens
No evidence, no existence.....
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You are correct. Just a hypothesis.
As to "Evidence". That depends upon what people decide is evidence. You and I have already agreed on how they will dismiss anecdotal evidence.
Often people say things do not exist. Why? They haven't been able to find a way to measure it and make a repeatable experiment to back up their claims.
Yet later they learn to measure it and it did in fact exist.
Science is useless at disproving things unless it can observe them. It is completely based upon observation.
If the person decides they do or don't trust the source that tells them anecdotal information ultimately tends to be what leads them to say "it doesn't exist", "it exists", or just keep their mouths shut.
When one group, or person is the arbiter of what constitutes evidence then it becomes authoritarian. They begin dictating the rules.
It is fine if they personally have chosen to state "it doesn't exist".
That doesn't mean it is true.
Likewise, while the various razors are indeed pretty cool and useful for making decisions they are not always correct and treating them as such is a guaranteed path to eventual mistakes. How big a mistake... could be small, could be big. It depends upon what impact that mistake has.
I do like that Occam's Razor does leave the possibility in it for not being an absolute.
I've also been fond of Hanlon's Razor.
I do indeed like them. Yet I view them a tool that often (but not always) works.
Yes Occams Razor is my fave too, I use it a lot as well as 'common sense' which seems to be rare these days.
A friend just posted these 2 memes on my wall which are so relevant to our convo. I think you will like them too.
They certainly are in line with what I've been looking at lately.......
Feynman's is interesting. It is a lot like how I think about things. I try to understand though.