know1 /noʊ/ Show Spelled [noh] Show IPA verb, knew, known, know·ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1. to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty: I know the situation fully.
2. to have established or fixed in the mind or memory: to know a poem by heart; Do you know the way to the park from here?
3. to be cognizant or aware of: I know it.
4. be acquainted with (a thing, place, person, etc.), as by sight, experience, or report: to know the mayor.
5. to understand from experience or attainment (usually followed by how before an infinitive): to know how to make gingerbread.
6. to be able to distinguish, as one from another: to know right from wrong.
7. Archaic. to have sexual intercourse with.
verb (used without object)
8. to have knowledge or clear and certain perception, as of fact or truth.
9. to be cognizant or aware, as of some fact, circumstance, or occurrence; have information, as about something.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/know
How does something become a FACT?
How many people need to proof something before it becomes a fact? Who decides it now is a fact? For instance a statement 'Given the opportunity, deer will chew gum and marijuana.' - would this be a fact?
OK how many of you have ever seen a deer, let alone one that chews gum or marijuana? and you accept it as a fact?
Best AnswerThis is an astoundingly complex (and good) question which I'll try to answer as simply as possible. Basically, a fact is a practical truth, a statement that can, at least in theory, be checked and confirmed. Facts are not opinions and beliefs, statements which are held to be true, but cannot be pragmatically confirmed. In our everyday usage it generally means something that has really occurred or is the case. A fact is something whose truth can be derived from observation, experience or experiment. So for your example to become a fact we would have to observe or experience a deer, when given the opportunity, choosing to chew gum and marijuana. In science this observation would have to be repeated enough times by many different people for it to become an accepted fact. As it is in your question, your statement is merely an opinion or belief and should be prefaced by, "I think/believe/hold the opinion that given the opportunity a deer will chew gum and marijuana. Until I or other people observe this happening, I cannot claim it is a fact". A good word to use in relation to facts is "empirical" - it denotes information gained by means of observation, experiment or experience. All factual information must be based, and be dependent on, empirical evidence that is confirmed by other people. For example you can tell me that you personally have seen deer chewing gum hundreds of times, but until this has been corroborated by empirical evidence, I will not accept your claims as fact. The question of "fact" has occupied philosophers for thousands of years. It's an utterly fascinating concept. Any introduction to philosophy book will deal with it. As a concept, "fact" means different things in Science, in Maths, in History, in Law....
http://answerit.news24.com/Question/How%20does%20something%20become%20a%20FACT?/58609
Wikipedia - An Act of God
Act of God is a legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible.
Contract law:
]In the law of contracts, an act of God may be interpreted as an implied defence under the rule of impossibility or impracticability. If so, the promise is discharged because of unforeseen occurrences, which were unavoidable and would result in insurmountable delay, expense, or other material breach.
An example scenario could assume that an opera singer and a concert hall have a contract. The singer promises to appear and perform at a certain time on a certain date. The hall promises to have the stage and audio equipment ready for her. However, a tornado destroys the hall a month before the concert is to take place. Of course, the hall is not responsible for the tornado. It may be impossible for the hall to rebuild in time to keep its promise. On the other hand, it may be possible but extraordinarily expensive to reconstruct on such short notice. The hall would argue that the tornado was an act of God and excuses its nonperformance via impossibility or impracticability.
In other contracts, such as indemnification, an act of God may be no excuse, and in fact may be the central risk assumed by the promisor—e.g., flood insurance or crop insurance—the only variables being the timing and extent of the damage. In many cases, failure by way of ignoring obvious risks due to "natural phenomena" will not be sufficient to excuse performance of the obligation, even if the events are relatively rare: e.g., the year 2000 problem in computers. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, 2-615, failure to deliver goods sold may be excused by an "act of God" if the absence of such act was a "basic assumption" of the contract, but has made the delivery "commercially impracticable".
Recently, human activities have been claimed to be the root causes of some events until now considered natural disasters. In particular:
water pressure in dams releasing a geological fault (earthquake in China)
geothermal injections of water provoking earthquakes (Basel, Switzerland, 2003) drilling provoking mud volcano (Java, ongoing)
Such events are possibly threatening the legal status of Acts of God and may establish liabilities where none existed until now.
Other uses :
The phrase “act of God”, is sometimes used to attribute an event to divine intervention. Often it is used in conjunction with a natural disaster or tragic event. A miracle, by contrast, is often considered a fortuitous event attributed to divine intervention. Some consider it separate from acts of nature and being related to fate or destiny.
Christian theologians differ on their views and interpretations of scripture. R.C. Sproul implies that God causes a disaster when he speaks of Divine Providence: “In a universe governed by God, there are no chance events”Others indicate that God may allow a tragedy to occur.
Others accept unfortunate events as part of life and reference Matthew 5:45 (KJV): “for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
