Our perception of truth

[caractacus]

To the OP, If you don't mind watching old b/w japanese films you should check out Rashomon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon_(film)

[Deleted]

True wisdom comes from knowing that you know jackshit.

[Kalis]

True wisdom comes from knowing that you know jackshit.

This was stated by Socrates 2,500 years ago, though I don't think he used the exact same phrasing

[Deleted]

"the only thing i know for sure is that religion is fake and we are our own gods.", how the fuck can i be banned becouse of writing my opinion,

Because you didn't read the rules.

The following topics are not to be discussed on MMO-Champion on penalty of ban.

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(There's also a rule against ban evading)

True wisdom comes from knowing that you know jackshit.

Hardly the case, anyone and their mother can quote Socrates.

[Zechs-cenarius]

please refer to my sig

[Deleted]

When you drop something it's pulled towards the ground. Try this as many times as you'd like and it will still be correct.

I took your advice and started testing this in order to verify. All was going well until I tested with the balloon I got for my birthday. It drifted off!

I'm thoroughly disappointed that you would lie so openly in a discussion about the truth.

[Kalis]

please refer to my sig

"Cartoons don't have any deep meaning. They're just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh." - Homer Simpson.

[Spectral]

I think it's mostly a matter of how we've evolved. A false positive on "I know X" is less likely to be harmful than fencesitting and choosing to acknowledge not knowing much of anything. This is a complete just-so story and I can't provide any evidence of it whatsoever, so I'm not going to defend it real vociferously. I'm also not claiming it's a good trait in the modern world.

[Deleted]

I took your advice and started testing this in order to verify. All was going well until I tested with the balloon I got for my birthday. It drifted off!

I'm thoroughly disappointed that you would lie so openly in a discussion about the truth.

Repeat this experiment in a vacuum, I'm sorry my colleague forgot to mention this detail.

[Gheld]

Based on this and other very similar circumstances, how can most of us be so bold as to believe we know what the truth of any situation is that we were not personally involved in?

It's called making an inference; and everything you mentioned is something to consider when doing so.

Typically the police are trained to give as little information as possible to the media, so you can safely assume that unless a gag order is issued the vast majority of the information the media is working with is witnesses that are willing to give interviews to the media (but generally speaking the last thing you want, if you just witnessed a brutal murder is some microphone in your face) so you can safely assume that the media will actually end up with interviews from third party 'jump-ins' who are just looking to add their own political spin to it. The media likes political spin and you better believe they have taken what-ever spin their interviewees have added and cranked it up into over-drive. Partly because a sensational headline sells, but also because unlike the police, whose job it is to seal all possible information about the case, the media's job is to release as much information as possible about the case.

So
HORRIFIC MURDER
If
Police issue statement: You can assume that there's a lot of information being left out, most of which is probably useless save for forensic investigators anyways.
If
Media issues statement: You can assume that most of it is completely made up by unreliable witnesses who probably weren't actually there, but only knew somebody who was there.

You basically have to apply both those information filters to everything you hear with the proper prejudice and eventually you can come up with a fairly decent picture of what actually happened.

ELEMENTARY MY DEAR WATSON!

[Tastyfish]

Potential future apples do not count

THere are no rules that say seeds of a fruit do not count tho :P

[Deleted]

Repeat this experiment in a vacuum, I'm sorry my colleague forgot to mention this detail.

Luckily I did have a spare balloon and a vacuum chamber at home. The balloon exploded from the internal pressure, but the pieces did fall down!
As a tip to those who wish to repeat the experiment, but don't wish to explode your balloons, I can suggest replacing the vacuum with with any gas that has equal to or lower density than the gas inside the balloon.

For science!

[Deleted]

Luckily I did have a spare balloon and a vacuum chamber at home. The balloon exploded from the internal pressure, but the pieces did fall down!
As a tip to those who wish to repeat the experiment, but don't wish to explode your balloons, I can suggest replacing the vacuum with with any gas that has equal to or lower density than the gas inside the balloon.

For science!

Well you never specified the balloon was actually filled with anything. How was I supposed to know you hadn't discovered a rubbery material that's lighter than air?

[Deleted]

Well you never specified the balloon was actually filled with anything. How was I supposed to know you hadn't discovered a rubbery material that's lighter than air?

You are absolutely correct and I apologise for jumping to conclusions. Perhaps I should take this moment to emphasise that I did intend the lay-person's definition of balloon in my original post (reference.com has it as "a bag made of thin rubber or other light material, usually brightly colored, inflated with air or with some lighter-than-air gas and used as a children's plaything or as a decoration") and it's most assuredly not the working name for some airborne doomsday device that I might be developing.

[TheWerebison]

Thanks for the replies, folks; I enjoyed seeing how others felt!

I actually did fall asleep after writing that, I just felt I had to make a thread and see what other people's ideas about the subject were. :P

[Baracuda]

So, I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep (which is where I come up with a lot of thoughts like these), when a thought occurred to me: why is it that the average person believes they know what the truth of a matter is?

Let's take an example; let's say a suicide, or a homicide, occurs somewhere. The police run an investigation, and although many of their observations may be accurate about motive and circumstance, none of them will ever know exactly what happened, what thoughts were running through the victim's head. Not 100%, anyway. So then the police take their data, and they CHOOSE what to give to the media. The media, in turn, chooses how much of that information to give to the public, within a very limited time frame, AND how best to spin the story, usually opting for sensationalism and something to hook viewers. A person then watches the story, and finally combines it with personal experiences, any knowledge they may or may not have about related topics, and their own personal beliefs, to come up with their own perception of what has actually happened.

Based on this and other very similar circumstances, how can most of us be so bold as to believe we know what the truth of any situation is that we were not personally involved in?

The only one who believes they know the truth by listening to the media, believes in the media.

[oblivionx]

There is a fundamental reward to certainty over ones convictions and decisions.

Whether you are right or wrong, it's beneficial to approach it with certainty.. to you.

[Spectral]

@Lycrosis and Depom - I enjoyed that series of posts greatly. Thanks for that.

[Knight Gil]

Hardly the case, anyone and their mother can quote Socrates.

It doesn't change the fact that Socrates totally nailed it.

[Spectral]

It doesn't change the fact that Socrates totally nailed it.

He most certainly didn't. If everyone actually acted on the idea that no one knows anything, we'd have made no advancement whatsoever.