The Cellar - View Single Post - How we know what we know: utter denial in human beings

07-17-2006, 12:10 PM

Very interesting subject .

Let's start with getting rid of the easy reply 'what is truth anyway?' I have a lot of problems with the concept of time for example . I know that X particular event only ran on for a couple of hours , but why the hell does it take up the whole of my head then ? I know that that other X period of time ran on for years and years , but why does it only take up about one second of my brain ?

OK , now that is out of the way , it is interesting to remember that not all cultures count like we do . In many languages , once you have got past the fingers and toes , everything else is 'a lot' ( those cultures put detail elsewhere) . We can hardly say that the Chinese think in terms of 'a lot' . No one knows more about counting than they do . Mao obviously played around with figures and other people's credibility . This is not good , but then neither was Mao .

Seeing how little things actually were is part of growing up . We have all gone back to that huge tree of our childhood only to find out that it is just an ordinary old tree . That bottomless , scary cupboard turns out to be a scruffy little glory-hole . I have never been able to grow up completely though , as I still see my father as tall , brave and wonderful . Well , he IS tall , brave and wonderful .

And apparently it is not true about being able to see the Great Wall of China from outer space .

07-17-2006, 12:10 PM	#7
Buddug Guest Posts: n/a	Very interesting subject . Let's start with getting rid of the easy reply 'what is truth anyway?' I have a lot of problems with the concept of time for example . I know that X particular event only ran on for a couple of hours , but why the hell does it take up the whole of my head then ? I know that that other X period of time ran on for years and years , but why does it only take up about one second of my brain ? OK , now that is out of the way , it is interesting to remember that not all cultures count like we do . In many languages , once you have got past the fingers and toes , everything else is 'a lot' ( those cultures put detail elsewhere) . We can hardly say that the Chinese think in terms of 'a lot' . No one knows more about counting than they do . Mao obviously played around with figures and other people's credibility . This is not good , but then neither was Mao . Seeing how little things actually were is part of growing up . We have all gone back to that huge tree of our childhood only to find out that it is just an ordinary old tree . That bottomless , scary cupboard turns out to be a scruffy little glory-hole . I have never been able to grow up completely though , as I still see my father as tall , brave and wonderful . Well , he IS tall , brave and wonderful . And apparently it is not true about being able to see the Great Wall of China from outer space .