Re:The control group is out of control (2014)
by PaulDavisThe1st on Saturday January 22, 2022 @04:24PM
(#30040967)
this is similar to a kind of subject and object confusion:
subject: most reasonable people
object: psi phenomena
verbs: to believe, to exist
The full statement can be stated in at least two ways:
"[ these people ] don't believe that [ these phenomena ] exist."
"[ these people ] believe that [ these phenomena ] don't exist."
Either one is valid, as are the contracted versions, but the first one describes the absence of belief in existence, and the second describes the presence of a belief in non-existence.
These are closely related things, but not identical, and I imagine the author likely chose carefully.
subject: most reasonable people
object: psi phenomena
verbs: to believe, to exist
The full statement can be stated in at least two ways:
Either one is valid, as are the contracted versions, but the first one describes the absence of belief in existence, and the second describes the presence of a belief in non-existence.These are closely related things, but not identical, and I imagine the author likely chose carefully.