Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was a rigorously grounded man. When his friend James Boswell twitted him over Bishop George Berkeley's theory of immaterialism- that things cannot exist unseen, and only God prevents us endlessly flashing in and out of existence- Johnson kicked a large stone hard with his shoe, and growled, "I refute it THUS."
Immaterialism revived itself this weekend. Here is a simple, Johnsonian refutation I offer as a public service:
Right now, it is raining outside. It is not an alternative fact to posit that President Putin is flying a planeload of the World's Best Whores overhead to pee on my house.
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