October 18, 2023, 8:11 am
Very interesting illustration, from the Soviet era... So, this seems almost universally recognized. And therefore reversible. Everyone is ready to be sorry that the others have been deceived (or allowed themselves to be deceived)... And it is despairing that it is so difficult to make them understand it (become aware of it)...
Today is October 18, 2023, 8:11 a.m. The sun rises on the East...
Came across this illustration by chance. If you haven't guessed, this is the Soviet version of Mark Twain's famous quote: "It is easier to deceive people than to convince them that they have been deceived"...
It is remarkable that this statement is almost unanimously accepted as true ! And that in this era which calls upon you to take sides, without nuance, in everything, Covid, climate change, war in Ukraine, or Palestine... The idea is verified daily that among the best shared things in the world are : stupidity, with which everyone is ready to recognize that the other is more amply supplied with it than themselves, and the critical spirit with which everyone considers themselves amply supplied... How can we get out of this mirrored situation? While both parties, bunkered in their camp which they claim to be the camp of the Good, tell me that we should, to begin with, teach critical thinking in schools?...
Perhaps it would be useful to remember that although we pride ourselves on the title of "being gifted with intelligence", the essential part of our cognitive processes is of the order of automatism. Very fortunately, because if for each of the thousands of decisions that life involves daily, we took the time to pause to weigh the pros and cons and consciously analyze things, we would be permanently paralyzed. Also, in order to reasonably maintain control, without falling into obsessive neurosis, it seems appropriate to equip ourselves with "alert signals", reminding us of situations where it is particularly appropriate to switch to "awake" mode.
One of these "red flags" for me is the word "truth". Always remember that the word truth does not belong to the vocabulary of science, but to that of religion (or politics, which amounts to the same thing), and that each time a person claims to be the holder of "truth", what is at stake is not "knowledge", but "power"...
"It takes great maturity to understand that the opinion we defend is only our favorite hypothesis, necessarily imperfect, probably transitory, that only the very narrow-minded can pass off as a certainty or a truth." (Milan Kundera)
The absence of "truth" can of course be felt uncomfortable. But with a little training... Life is at this price...