Ikwipedia:Evidence

The investigation of paradigm-shifting phenomena involving other intelligent entities necessarily must rely on non-empirical evidence. That empirical evidence is infrequent in such investigations cases is a reflection of the nature of the subjects themselves. Paranormal entities, conspiracy actors, and other elusive beings — if they exist — may actively resist empirical scrutiny, understanding the significance of reproducible evidence in a manner similar to the investigators themselves. Evidence affirmatively includes testimony.

What is evidence?

Evidence encompasses more than reproducible experiments. Fields such as biological history, archaeology, geology, journalism, and investigations—ranging from criminal to disease outbreak investigations—commonly rely on evidence that cannot be empirically reproduced. Though every paradigm has its potential inaccuracies, the conclusions of established practitioners in these fields are often granted a similar authority to those based more exclusively on empirical methods. Non-empirical evidence, such as documents, artifacts, photographs, videos, and testimony, are all equally valid and essential for building knowledge and supporting investigations.

Testimony as evidence

Testimony is evidence. As with other evidence, testimony's value is evaluated based on its relevance, context, alignment with other evidence, contribution to understanding, and explanatory power of the theories it supports.