“Remember when Mom made caramel candy for Valentine’s Day last year?” my brother reminisced.
“You mean Easter?” I questioned.
“No, she definitely made them for Valentine’s Day.”
“It doesn't really matter. But, just so you know, she only made them for Easter. I’m 100% certain” I laughed.
Both refusing to be wrong, we flipped back through piles and piles of pictures. Sure enough, my mom did make caramel candy for Valentine’s Day last year. She made caramel cookies for Easter. Dang it.
I was so certain. I didn’t have any doubts. Yet, I was wrong. It’s startling, almost eerie, when we realize that we can be so confident and still be wrong about the world around us…
There are 4,200 religions, and each one has members who are certain that theirs is true, yet, at least 4,199 of these religions must be false.
We put certainty in scientific belief that turns out to be wrong or, at best, incomplete. Not too long ago, we were certain that the Earth was flat. We had no doubts that the Earth was the center of the universe. Now we claim to know that the Earth is round and the sun is the center. For the record, I believe it is, but how can we be certain when we were so confident, yet so wrong, before? It would be pure arrogance to believe that somehow now we have it all figured out.
We are certain that gravity is the force that keeps us from floating around, but what’s to say that tomorrow, gravity will continue to rule? The probability of gravity disappearing is so small, smaller than fathomable even, but I believe that this probability exists.
The probability of everything exists; in an incredibly complex, always changing, and greatly unexplored world, nothing is truly certain.
And, boy, is that humbling. Once we understand that we could be wrong about everything, the way that we view people who disagree with us changes. We can’t be certain, and they can’t be certain. Maybe there’s some middle ground there. When we recognize how little we truly know, we humanize those who disagree with us and allow for greater compassion; we’re all uncertain together.
And I think that a little more compassion is exactly what this world needs.
Do you think that we can be certain about anything? Why or why not?
I do not think that we can be completely certain about anything. As time goes on, more and more research is done on a variety of subjects, so we are continuously being presented with new information that sometimes contradicts our old beliefs. It is very possible that we are wrong about a lot of things, which is very weird to think about. The facts that we're aware of right now can keep changing as time goes on, and, in my opinion, it would be impossible for us humans to know every single thing about everything.
ReplyDeleteI dont think we cam ever be certain on anything. Everything changes so fast or we are presented with new types of outlooks and perveptions that we change our moods and our opinions at the drop of a hat. We dont know everything and will never know everything but we as humans sure as heck try!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a prime reason to read "But What if We're Wrong" by Chuck Klosterman.
ReplyDelete