To think that you can’t prove a negative?

[TheKookyMaker]

People often say, “prove it didn’t happen,” but isn’t that impossible in most cases? AIBU to think that the burden of proof should always be on the person making the claim rather than expecting someone to prove a negative?

Hence why burden of proof is on the one making the claim.

I agree, I complained to Evri that I hadn't received a parcel they said they had handed to me.
They asked me to prove I didn't have it 🙄

I guess if someone said they went to the gym, their partner disbelieved them, they said 'prove it didn't happen!' then their partner shows them a video of them sitting in McDonald's at the very same time...
I think the sensible thing to say is just 'I don't believe you'. Then they could say 'why not?'

Yes, of course. Hence the number of underthinkers on ‘woo’ threads on here misquoting Hamlet and saying ‘science can’t prove there aren’t poltergeists, ‘genuine’ psychics channelling Great-Uncle Bernard telling you you’ve painted your front door, Goat Men, Slender Men, haunted houses etc etc.

Are people getting confused with the phrase “prove it or it didn’t happen” ?

It depends on the scenario but some stuff can't be proven or disproven if there's no evidence of it and it's in the past. You don't usually in everyday life have to prove anything and, if someone doubts you, that's their issue. If I say my name is X, most people don't demand to see my driver's licence as proof and I wouldn't show them if they asked.

You can definitely claim a negative and prove a negative. "There's no milk in the fridge" is proved by opening the fridge. It's just as easy to prove the positive "My name is X" as it is the negative "My name is not Princess Fifi" by showing my driver's licence in both instances.

Past situations are where you run into the more issues of proof. eg "I've met the King." You can prove it if you were at an event and there's a photo of you with him. You can't if no one took a photo but you could provide circumstantial evidence you were going to the event he was at (texts, email invite, phone data) which would lend weight to the fact you likely met him. "I've never met the King" is harder to prove because it covers an expanse of time (but easily disproven if someone spots of photo of you with the King).

It depends on the context. "Prove you didn't message my girlfriend" is very difficult, you can't show you haven't done something. "Prove you didn't visit grandma on Tuesday evening" is easily solved if you can show where you were instead.

You're still proving a positive there. You are proving they were somewhere else. It is impossible to prove a negative.

I've never come across anyone saying prove it didn't happen OP.

I see this quite often with conversations about religion and gods existence. Believers will often say, prove it didn’t happen or doesn’t exist etc, to people who don’t believe.

@OchonAgusOchonOh yeah, I guess that's true. What about physical evidence. Like 'did you eat your dinner?' the person says yes, and when not believed says to prove they didn't. The other person responds by pointing to the dinner that's untouched on a plate on the side?

In that instance you're proving the existence of the dinner.

The late great Christopher Hitchens says it best.