Aniseed Balls

A while back a friend made the woo-woo suggestion that all opinions are equally valid and equally true. Imagine a group of Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers stalking a deer in a wood. The deer spooks and darts off. One of the hunters says it was a Spotted Pearlsbok, that always goes to ground a short distance away, and that the group should make loud noises to flush it out. Another hunter says it was a Spotted Milksbok, that always runs off completely, and that the group should look for new prey. It really matters to the group which of the two closely related species they have been stalking, but they are difficult to distinguish at a distance. Here is the first point. Both hunters have expressed valid opinions. They are based on careful observation and objective experience. But notice an important thing about these two valid opinions – one is wrong, in the obvious sense of incorrectly describing the world in a significant way. This is a major pitfall for the irrational. They