Quote:
Originally Posted by yoropa
Facts don't have to be agreed on by the majority since there are ignorant people in this world. Canada is located in North America. While I'm sure someone somewhere disagrees with this, it is a fact.
Scientific equations and observations of the universe fall outside the realm of complete fact since there may or may not exist incidents and cases that could disprove them. Those simply haven't been discovered yet. That's why it's the theory of gravity, or the Pythagorean Theorem, not the Law of Gravity or the Pythagorean Law. They are mostly factual.
And something for you to ponder now. 1+1=2 is a fact. Unlike the scientific realm, basic mathematics is lawful and factual. Now let's say you go to a community that thinks 1+1=3. Does that mean 1+1=2 is no longer a fact, or does that mean this community is ignorant to the fact? Before life even existed, did 1+1=2? Yes, it did. It is a fact. Regardless of the lack of life to ponder such concepts, 1 and 1 still made 2.
So I will disagree with your statement of "A fact, is an opinion agreed upon wholly by the majority." Even without people, a fact is still a fact.
EDIT: Do note that in more complex math it may become difficult to prove that 1+1=2.
|
There is where we delve into the accuracy of the facts, where the details are murky and diluted at best. This would piss Irencius off, but how do you explain historical facts?
If you want something about 1 + 1 = 2, it isn't a fact, it is a truth. That is why in maths, we prove by means of an induction, that it is true, not prove by means it is a fact.
That is why when someone points out "true to the fact", it means that the person has a doubt over a generalisation of a "truth" which is agreed and pointed out by a large majority to be true. It is hard to explain further, but you might want to check through the dictionary, and the areas which these words are used in to describe something.