What does the phrase “you can’t prove a negative” actually mean?
In: 1149
My favorite example of this is one made by John Oliver.
Indiana Representative Dan Burton famously claimed that there was a link between vaccines and autism. He said something to the effect of “scientists will say there’s no evidence of that, but there’s no evidence that *disproves* it, either!”
To which John Oliver claimed that Dan Burton fucks donkeys. There may be no evidence of it, but there’s no evidence it’s not true, either. Since any evidence of Dan Burton *not actively fucking a donkey* just means he’s not fucking one in the moments you were able to observe.
[Link to John Oliver episode.](https://youtu.be/7VG_s2PCH_c?si=_ziFxXnbekJDQMYg) Dan Burton segment starts around 11:48.
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