READING TIME: 1 MINUTE
The truth doesn't matter. What matters is what everyone thinks is true.
Others may be dumb or immoral, read the wrong news and books, or have the wrong ideologies. "They" may have it all wrong and be completely blind to the truth.
But it doesn't matter.
The truth doesn't matter. What matters is what everyone thinks is true.
Others may be dumb or immoral, read the wrong news and books, or have the wrong ideologies. "They" may have it all wrong and be completely blind to the truth.
But it doesn't matter.
We're blind to what others think – people not like "us". We don't see their view, can't accept it.
It didn't matter that Galileo was right when he wrote, in 1632, that Earth orbits the Sun. Earth does orbit the Sun, the Sun doesn't go around-and-around Earth. He was still tried as a heretic, and spent the final ten years of his life under house arrest – the truth didn't matter. What mattered was what the ones in power thought was true, or at least what they wanted to be true. Galileo was looking through a telescope that he had just built. The telescope had just been invented, and he was one of the first to use it. It took time. Eventually, it was agreed he was right, but he was long dead. Was it worth it? We'll never know.
When it comes to questions like ...
It didn't matter that Galileo was right when he wrote, in 1632, that Earth orbits the Sun. Earth does orbit the Sun, the Sun doesn't go around-and-around Earth. He was still tried as a heretic, and spent the final ten years of his life under house arrest – the truth didn't matter. What mattered was what the ones in power thought was true, or at least what they wanted to be true. Galileo was looking through a telescope that he had just built. The telescope had just been invented, and he was one of the first to use it. It took time. Eventually, it was agreed he was right, but he was long dead. Was it worth it? We'll never know.
When it comes to questions like ...
- "What do we know?"
- "How do we know that we know?"
- "What does it mean to know something?"
... you have to fight the good fight, seek truth. But just remember, if someone disagrees with you, he will prefer his opinion to yours. No matter how dumb or immoral it might seem.