(urth) Shapeshifting Evidence and Principles

[thalassocrat at nym.hush.com]

I wrote:

>I don't think that's the real dichotomy. Better: "Here's a nice 
>shiny jewel - let's shove it in the ring!" vs "But it doesn't fit, 

>
>and if you scratch it, it flakes. Let's find a real gem that 
>fits."

Well, that certainly sounds more aggressive than I intended. I 
really meant that everybody finds themselves on different sides of 
that division from time to time. What looks like ill-fitting tawdry 
costume paste to some may look like the Wossisname diamond to 
others, or even to the same person at a different time. Etc etc 
etc. 

I don't think anybody really denies the existence of empty jewel 
settings which we're supposed to fill in for ourselves.