The Nature Of Knowledge

[idontunderstand]

I dont know about you guys, but my own ego is constantly getting in the way when I try to learn new facts. Specifically this relates to learning something which may contradict my current view point & world view.

Sometimes facts are emotionally satisfying, sometimes intellectually so. On other occasion you can feel like you wished you never asked a question, because the answer wont fit what you want.

I noticed how asleep I was when I read about a UFO case, and the title was PROVEN HOAX etc. I readily accepted that headline without any critical thinking. Its almost as if someone says HOAX then everyone goes "Ok"

Whether something is presented as TRUE or a HOAX, i think you must apply the same critical thinking to both arguments.

I think HOAX becomes a much more powerful word, if a perceived authentic body of people say it is so.

Just my observations on how I think.

Cheers!

 

[CapnG]

It's not strictly ego, remember your brain is a learning machine, so when it comes in contact with information that contradicts what it "knows" it has to first remove the conflict, ie "unlearn" before accepting new input. And the longer you've lived and the more certain you are about tsomething, the harder it becomes to accept contrary information. Imagine waking up one day and being told 2+2=5. You'd hemmorage.

 

[idontunderstand]

It's not strictly ego, remember your brain is a learning machine, so when it comes in contact with information that contradicts what it "knows" it has to first remove the conflict, ie "unlearn" before accepting new input. And the longer you've lived and the more certain you are about tsomething, the harder it becomes to accept contrary information. Imagine waking up one day and being told 2+2=5. You'd hemmorage.

Thank you for your reply, it was very interesting. I'm personally not sure that we can unlearn something. Rather that we can learn that the untrue information is of no use to us, apart from its ability to give us a reference point to work from.

If as I suspect we retain all our memories, then to unlearn in a sense is to diminish access to the information we no longer regard as useful.

Cheers

 

[Aaron LeClair]

I'm glad when I find contradictions. It makes concluding not to conclude A LOT easier. The ability to say you don't know is a very powerful tool in never being wrong.

 

[CapnG]

I'm glad when I find contradictions. It makes concluding not to conclude A LOT easier. The ability to say you don't know is a very powerful tool in never being wrong.

But if you don't know you can never be right either, since you have no frame of reference.

Reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. Calvin extoles the value of ignorance because knowledge, he says, is crippling. Since every answer leads to more questions, the more you know, the more aware you become of how little you really know, leading to greater indicisiveness. If you're ignorant on the other hand, you can proceed blindly forward, confident and uninhibited. I should try and track that comic down...

 

[idontunderstand]

But if you don't know you can never be right either, since you have no frame of reference.

Reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. Calvin extoles the value of ignorance because knowledge, he says, is crippling. Since every answer leads to more questions, the more you know, the more aware you become of how little you really know, leading to greater indicisiveness. If you're ignorant on the other hand, you can proceed blindly forward, confident and uninhibited. I should try and track that comic down...

I think A.LeClair is talking more about the process of that way of thinking, and relating it to UFO knowledge. So much of it is subjective, and seems to be ever shifting.

Its like tuning in a tv picture. With ufology the best you can do sometimes is obtain a reasonable picture of whats going on. You know from experience that you cant really reach a conclusion, because the picture is liable to change at any moment.

The best you can do is pick out bits of the image which seem to remain constant, and try and integrate them into the new picture which comes into view.

To quote Bruce lee "The only constant thing is change". I think that applies quite well to the whole area of UFOs.

Cheers!

 

[Tony2007]

But if you don't know you can never be right either, since you have no frame of reference.

Reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. Calvin extoles the value of ignorance because knowledge, he says, is crippling. Since every answer leads to more questions, the more you know, the more aware you become of how little you really know, leading to greater indicisiveness. If you're ignorant on the other hand, you can proceed blindly forward, confident and uninhibited. I should try and track that comic down...

Interestingly enough this is part of my lesson plan whenever I teach Hamlet, and I use that same cartoon strip!

 

[Aaron LeClair]

I think A.LeClair is talking more about the process of that way of thinking, and relating it to UFO knowledge. So much of it is subjective, and seems to be ever shifting.

Yep. That's where I was coming from.