Denial is powerful, true.

You should know.

True, I still think you have a brain worth conversing with from time-to-time.
Makes me foolish.

I couldn't disagree more. People start wars over stuff they believe to be "true." It'd be nice if folks would investigate the facts ahead of time.

We are all bound by certain ways of seeing the world. These are things that depend on both our culture and the the age we live in. 1,000 years ago I would KNOW the world is flat, and that the sun and stars orbited the earth.

I am sure that we have many ways of looking at our world today which are just as misguided.

At the end of the day, al we can do is our best to be open. One thing for sure, the things which inflame us most are probably the things that contain the puzzle that own existence most compels us to resolve.

Very true. I think it's probably worth occassionally reminding oneself that the world is interpreted individually. Universal truths aren't always as universal as we might believe them to be.

That said, on the whole the major changes and developments in the world (good and bad) have been achieved by people who felt strong conviction in their worldview. Convictions are held, however, within a mentalite and knowing that you know nothing does not change the fact that in order to navigate the world you operate within that mentalite. Though we sometimes place too much weight on our certainties, they are necessary for us to live in the world. Humans are pattern-seeking creatures. We short-cut much of our understanding of the world in order to concentrate our attention on necessary, or less certain matters.

Isn't an impending war an opportunity to verify the truth? Seems to me that's close to the ultimate time to check.
Not so, we are not bound... we don't have to accept somebody's word for anything. We are always free to investigate other sources of information.

Mom said TIDE is the best laundry soap. I could do research on that but it isn't worth the time and effort.
Mom also said having credit cards is bad. Now that's something worth further checking.
Then Mom said orientals shouldn't be trusted. I'm sure I wouldn't take anyone's word on that, not even Mom.

The trick is to be aware of the consequences of your decisions and know to further check the reasons for your position, when the consequences are serious.

I think that's a waste of time. The whole meaning of life thing is silly... just get on with it.

Very well said.

I believe in the "3 in 1" philosophy myself-it is a bit of a stretch....and it is all valid to someone- factual or not.