Misconceptions
How do you know what you know?
David Hume was a philosopher who lived in Scotland in the 1700s. It seems like he was a real badass.
In 1739 at the tender age of just 28, he shook the world when he pointed out the obvious (in hindsight) truth that we cannot know anything about the outside world for sure.
Think about it.
The only thing you can ever possibly know about reality comes from your senses. Sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell. That’s it.
But how do you know that they tell the truth? How do you know that I perceive the same that you do? How do you even know that I exist?
There’s no such thing as “the world as it really is” independent of the humansensory apparatus.
I’m colorblind. I see color differently from you. Or so I’ve been told. But how can I truly know? How can I know how you see color? How can you know how I see color? We can’t. We can only perceive the world through our own senses.
My dog has different sensory equipment than I do. Her vision is worse, but her sense of smell is better. When we go for a walk, she loves to sniff. When I come back from a trip, she loves to sniff my eyes. I joke that she wants to smell what I’ve seen.
My point is, we cannot know anything about the “objective” outside world for sure.
That’s humbling.
It’s also really good news, because all of our source of suffering and conflict comes from believing that we can know anything for sure.
When we add in the humility of realizing that we can’t, it opens us up to new information and to each other.
An open mind gives rise to an open heart.
A closed mind equals a closed heart.
Even something like “science” isn’t ever proven to be true.
To Infinity
Some years ago, my friend Branimir recommended I read the book The
Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch.
I was a bit skeptical, because it seemed dry, but boy was I wrong. One of the most important books I’ve read. If you haven’t read it, please do. It should be required reading in all schools. In Calvin Nation, it for sure will, along with all of Byron Katie’s books.
Here’s what he says:
“[...] the desirable future is one where we progress from misconception to ever better (less mistaken) misconception.
I have often thought that the nature of science would be better understood if we called theories ‘misconceptions’ from the outset, instead of only after we have discovered their successors.
Thus we could say that Einstein’s Misconception of Gravity was an improvement on Newton’s Misconception, which was an improvement on Kepler’s. The neo-Darwinian Misconception of Evolution is an improvement on Darwin’s Misconception, and his on Lamarck’s.
If people thought of it like that, perhaps no one would need to be reminded that science claims neither infallibility nor finality.”
“Science claims neither infallibility nor finality.”
Whenever they tell you “the science is settled” you know they have no clue what they're talking about. Science is never settled. They’re trying to gaslight you.
I love Deutsch’s perspective, because it reminds us to always keep an open mind. Stay curious. Keep searching for the truth.
Whatever you currently believe is just your latest misconception. Hopefully it’s better than your previous one. And hopefully it’ll get replaced by an even better one in the future.
Anything you read in this book is simply my best misconception to date.
Tomorrow or next week or next year, hopefully I’ll have a better one. That’s how it should be.
Never be so foolish as to believe that you’ve found the final truth, because that would mean your openness to discovery had ended.
Open mind equals an open heart. Keep both of them open.
Habits of Nature
One of the points that British scientist Rupert Sheldrake makes is that what we call “laws of nature” may in fact just be habits.
We call them “laws” but can we really know that they are? Of course we cannot.
Just because every single swan we’ve ever seen was white doesn’t mean that a black swan doesn’t or cannot exist.
Claiming they’re “laws” is an assumption, not a fact.
And that’s okay. We have to make gross simplifications, generalizations, and assumptions in order to function in the world. It’s normal, natural, and healthy. Just don’t mistake the map for the territory.
What hurts you is not what you don’t know.
It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.
The Power of Language
Notice how this is something that is easy to reason your way to.
And yet, you’ll hear journalists, experts, politicians, even scientists say “the science is settled” and “laws of nature.” Even though in just a couple of paragraphs we were able to realize that cannot be.
This should give you a sense of just how pervasive the web of inaccurate thinking is.
We’re so easy to manipulate via language.
Terrence McKenna said: “the real secret of magic is that the world is made of words. And if you know the words that the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish.”
We live inside prisons made up of words.
A Better Misconception
What makes one misconception “better” than another?
The best misconception is the one that is more useful.
Does it predict the future better? Does it make us take better action? Then it’s a better misconception.
Results follow actions.
If we want a certain result, we have to take the correct actions that will produce that result.
Let’s say you want to be healthy and fit.
One person’s “misconception” is that eating low fat processed foods and taking prescription meds is the way to get there.
Another person’s “misconception” is that eating only clean, organic whole foods, in limited quantities, exercising regularly, and staying away from any processed foods or pharma products is the way to get there.
After a period, we can measure and see how well each theory is in predicting and producing the desired result.
Whichever does the best job is the better of the two.
We split test, pick a winner, and then we can form a new hypothesis and test against the control.
That’s how human progress is made.
But it only works if we’re free to make hypotheses and experiment.
If there are taboos, no-go zones, and forbidden questions, then we’re stunting our progress and our growth.
Which is why free speech is so crucial.
