September 8, 2006
#154: Beliefs

[[A girl and man stand together, with another figure in the distance]]
Girl: Professor, that man claims the earth is 6,000 years old!
Professor: So? Just use your head and don’t concern yourself overmuch with what other people think.
Girl: But he says the fossils in the mountains were put there in a flood!
Professor: Well, evidence suggests that they were not.
Girl: But he–
[[A mountain landscape]]
Professor: A million people can call the mountains a fiction, yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them.
[[The girl and professor again]]
Girl: But he believes the silliest things!
Professor: So?
Professor: The universe doesn’t care what you believe. The wonderful thing about science is that it doesn’t ask for your faith, it just asks for your eyes.
Girl: But he’s a US Senator!
Professor: Ah, then yes, we do have a bit of a situation.