Monday, June 25, 2007

Seeing is Believing is a Myth

We've all heard the old adage 'seeing is believing.' Don't believe it; it's a myth.

If we believed everything we saw, then we would have to believe a magician really can make an elephant disappear. We would also have to believe that sleight of hand is really magic unless we actually saw the sleight. Intellectually, we accept it for what it is: entertainment. We may even leave the show saying 'I couldn't believe my eyes.' It would be more accurate to say 'I didn't believe what my eyes brought into my logic center because it didn't seem possible to me.

Now that I've given an example that proves that the statement isn't always true, let's look at it mathematically. 'Is,' in language, is the same as 'equals' in mathematical concepts. If the statement is true, then we should be able to reverse it to 'believing is seeing,' and still end up with a true statement.

If that were true, then you don't believe you really have great-great grandparents, unless you actually saw them, of course.

This is an important premise to understand before we look into two organized religions that blind themselves to possibility: Judea-Christianity and Atheism.

2 comments:

:: Sarkar :: said...

No my dear "seeing is Believing" is true 4 sm events !! Can u believe me if i say I m India's President's relative until and unless u meet me !! .. huh??

Tom Koecke said...

I allowed the above 'common sense' comment to show the math.

If something is sometimes true and sometimes false, is that statement always true? Answer: No, it is not true the times that it is false.

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Is it lying or a myth?

A lie is, among other things, an intentional misstatement or non-disclosure intended to deceive another into believing that which is false is true.

A myth is a story, tale, or statement the intention of which is to explain a concept in life, but which we can intellectually or scientifically dismiss as inaccurate.

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Your statement 'seeing is believing is true for small events' has a self-imposed limitation. You, yourself, are, or seem to be, saying it isn't always true by the limitation of 'small events.'

The answer to your question is that I can believe you are the President of India's relative without seeing you, and I may not believe you were even if I did see you, depending on my principles.

We each have that capability, and we are only limited by how we apply life's principles.

My turn: How old were you when the light you saw as the nearest star last night began its journey into your eyes?

I'll make it easier for you: http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/nearest.html

Question: Can you 'imagine' that?

Answer: Yes, but you 'will' only if it is within your principles.

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