Jenny’s Web World

Just read this on another blog, and have to put it here so I don’t forget it. I refer to this concept quite frequently, but didn’t realize that it was put together so succinctly already.

ARGUMENTUM AD IGNORANTIAM

An argument that a proposition is true because it has not been shown to be false, or vice versa. Ad ignorantium arguments are also known as “appeals to ignorance.” This fallacy has two forms:

1. P is true, because it has not been proven false.
2. P is false, because it has not been proven true.

The cost of a first class stamp is going up, when, Monday? So I made my usual trip to the post office (not the one in Gloucester; another one which shall remain anonymous) to exchange the two unopened rolls of 39¢ stamps I have, and pick up another 60 2¢ stamps for the open roll of stamps I have.

Now let me digress for a moment to state that we rarely use stamps. I have so many because I have a rule (we OCDers have lots of rules) that once I open the last of something, I must get more immediately so I don’t run out. Well, if you order stamps online, shipping costs the same regardless of whether you order one or two rolls of stamps, so to save the 50¢ and the time spent ordering, I usually order two rolls.

Anyway, so I’m at the aforementioned post office and ask to exchange/return my old stamps. Despite having done this before at this exact post office, I was told that they cannot take back stamps, and if I’ve ever looked at my receipts, I’d have noticed that “all [stamp] sales are final.” So being the constant questioning person I am, I asked WHY won’t take stamps back. The response (in the words of Dave Barry, I am not making this up)?

“Because all sales are final.” WOW! I’m glad I got that cleared up!

I purchased 260 two-cent stamps and left.