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Truth and My Unease with Explanations

By thescian on September 4, 2008.

I am sure this has happened to many. I find catching myself out at times in that strange land where an Explanation has taken the place of Truth. I stand there looking lovingly at the face of Clarity and Certainty with little realization that they are strangling curiosity to death; when they vanish, one is left staring at a void with a dead soul. All this while that we have indulged these deadly twins, we have stopped from going further. When one has 'explained' something satisfactorily (to oneself), that is normally the end of one's quest, and therein lies the danger. The danger is this: the 'Explanation' could be wrong. If we do not encounter opportunities to find out the Truth, well, we are stuck with a partial explanation at best or a bogus one at worst. This thought makes me very very uneasy.

Feynman once said that "Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts". So true!

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The fundamental tenant of a reasonable person is "I could be wrong".

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge." - Daniel J. Boorstin

By Jason Dick (not verified) on 05 Sep 2008 #permalink