Bleeding to heal. The Earth is
flat. Earth is at the center of the solar system. Zeus lives on Mount Olympus.
The divine right of kings to act even as tyrants (e.g., Henry VIII of England).
Hitler died in his bunker. Turning the heater on in a local bus kills
coronavirus. These are things that were thought in their respective times to be
uncontrovertibly true. In some of these cases, the power of the establishment
was not subtle in enforcing them even when they should have been questioned. How
presumptuous this finite, mortal species is! If ignorance on stilts is bliss,
then why is it such in need of power? Subconsciously, the human mind must
realize that its assumption of not being able to be wrong is flawed. We are
subjective beings with instinctual urges—one of which manifests in the
unquestioned assumption that what we know cannot be wrong, and furthermore that
we are entitled to impose our “facts” on others. As the homo sapiens (i.e., wise) species, we are too
sure, and too proud, concerning our knowledge and especially beliefs. We would
like to have the certainty and objectivity that computers have, but we are
subjective biological animals, not inert machines.
The full essay is at "Undermining Progress."
