I think a lot about why we know what we know. Not all knowledge has the same lineage. As such, not all information is as easily verified. Indeed, the most common religions on Earth have many stories that are commonly debated. Whereas prior to the internet, electricity, and the invention of the printing press, the movement of information was slower and often subject to interpretations guided by religions and/or governments, following the advent and proliferation of those media, the manner in which facts are determined and known has changed. Whereas a supernatural vision may have been a legitimate excuse in 1500, far fewer people would accept that now. And yet, can we prove supernatural visions do not exist? Well, no. However, because computer technology can represent so much of the physical world very well, many people accept the simulacra as real.
This leads us back to the point: how do we know what we know? Is that even true???
I remember learning about mathematic postulates in school. The lesson was essentially that we use math because it’s true enough to build civilization with it, but we can inspect it and see it’s faith-based. I don’t remember the exact postulates, so I apologize in advance if I’m wrong. One, I think, is that a line is the shortest distance between two points. Hmm, I guess that would be a line segment.🤔 In any case, I really wanted to disprove a postulate. That’s simple enough, right? I think what was lost on me then was that mathematic postulates are more like Zen koans than riddles to be solved. I think I learned of postulates in 7th grade, and I think the glory of solving an otherwise intractable puzzle is that it would illustrate validity to me — that I was born for a specific and easily identified purpose.
But I digress AGAIN.
I apologize.
The point here is the lineage of facts: how we know what we know. Ultimately, I read that monasteries basically exist to pass information down through generations. If one thing is clear to me, it’s that information is fleeting. Gone with the wind. I used to think information was easily found and validated, but over the past couple decades, I have seen that nothing is sacred and that, like RAtM said (I think quoting Marx or Orwell or someone), “Who controls the present now controls the past.”