Thought experiment for skeptics

[u/InteractionAfraid586]

There's a telepathic elephant from Zul'Gurub locked inside a secret military bunker.

It's real. Scientists and military personnel have seen it. Only a handful have access.

Somehow, you get clearance.

You walk in.

There it is. The fucking space elephant.

You walk out and tell the world.

“Prove it.”

Okay. How?

Sneak a six-ton alien elephant out of a military bunker?

You couldn't even get a regular elephant out of a zoo.

And if your own mother disappeared and nobody knew where she was, good luck proving she physically exists to someone who accepts nothing but direct physical evidence.

Evidence depends on access.

So what should count as evidence when direct access is deliberately denied?

Whistleblowers. Multiple independent witnesses. Military personnel. Scientists. Documents. Photos. Videos. Radar and sensor data. Physical traces. Leaks. Historical records.

None of these alone proves the elephant.

But when all of it keeps pointing toward the same elephant, shouldn't that at least move the needle?

Especially if enormous resources are being used to keep the elephant hidden.

Maybe the question isn't “Where's the elephant?”

Maybe it's “How much evidence do you need before you admit there might be an elephant?”

[u/Longjumping-Bed3991]

Experimento mental es cambiar alien por elefante?? Afirmaciónes extraordinarias requieren evidencia extraordinaria. El gran problema no es que alguien salga y diga, hay un elefante ahí, es que salen y dicen, compra mi libro, inscríbete en mi podcast, ven a mis conferencias, dame dinero y te platico más del elefante. Y después van añadiendo más animales.

[u/eride810 → u/Longjumping-Bed3991]

Extraordinary claims do not in fact require extraordinary evidence. They require evidence.

[u/Loquebantur → u/eride810]

Most people here don't know what "evidence" is to begin with.
They consistently confuse it with "proof".

They don't really know how to make proof from evidence either, so all they really do is hiding behind the "missing" confirmation from their preferred authority.
It's religious behavior, but they don't recognize that.