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Saturday, April 1, 2017

A is for ANSWERS


Why Do The Answers Keep Changing?


When I was in school, they had textbooks with the answers in the back.  Did you?

Don't you wish life came with the answers in the back?

Of course, many of the answers given in those textbooks have now been proven wrong.

Life insists on being like that.

In 1666 Isaac Newton proposed his theory of gravitation. 

This was one of the greatest intellectual feats of all time. 

The theory explained all the observed facts, and made predictions that were later tested 

and found to be correct within the accuracy of the instruments being used. 

As far as anyone could see, Newton's theory was ``the Truth''.
During the nineteenth century, more accurate instruments were used to test Newton's theory, 

these observations uncovered some slight discrepancies. 

Albert Einstein proposed his theories of Relativity, 

which explained the newly observed facts and made more predictions. 

 Those predictions have now been tested and found to be correct within the accuracy of the instruments being used. 

As far as anyone could see, Einstein's theory was ``the Truth''


Scientists at the National Institute of Standard and Technology have proven beyond reasonable doubt 


that Einstein was wrong 

about one of the main principles of quantum mechanics and that "spooky action at a distance" is actually real.


Each month the internet states things like: 

"Eggs are bad for you."

Six months later, 

"Oh wait, they're actually good for you."



"Pluto is a planet."

Oops, no it is not."

"Ah, yes, it actually is."

(In this year's annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, 

a new definition of planet will state that it is) 
  

And what about morality?

Science does not make moral judgments. 

Anyone who tries to draw moral lessons from the laws of nature is on very dangerous ground.


Like Pilate before us, we are left with the question: 

"What is Truth?"

Perhaps the world and the universe in which it spins is just too vast for finite minds to comprehend fully.


As Paul from Tarsus wrote: 
We see as through a mirror darkly.

"Trust the man who searches for truth.  Doubt the man who says he has found it."
 - Mark Twain

28 comments:

  1. Hi Roland. Great philosophizing for your first entry. What is Truth? Good question. It's getting lost under a world of blather these days. :-(

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    1. Truth and World Politics have never been traveling companions! Thanks for the nice words. :-)

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  2. Hi Roland - history changes answers over time, on a day to day basis - who is in power tries to put their own answer up.

    Cheers and see you around ...
    A-Z Challenge 2017 post today is

    Aurochs

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    Replies
    1. Sadly, true. :-( Napoleon said that the winner write the histories!

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  3. somehow I think that questions are more important than answers.

    -----
    Name: Eva
    Blog: Mail Adventures
    #AtoZ Challenge Theme: Postcards
    Letter A: Adventurers. Because any postcard is a little adventure, isn't it?

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    Replies
    1. Asking questions at least means we are still alive mentally, right? :-)

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  4. I could surely use some answers right now! Sadly, I'm not even sure what the questions are!
    Great start! Happy A to Z ing!

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  5. Oh yes, answers. I just never seemed to have the right ones, especially in math classes. I like the Mark Twain quote!

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  6. I'm sure Diogenes is still wandering the universe (he's obviously given up on planet earth)with his truth-seeking light. He's nothing if not persistent. Good luck with your AtoZ this year. Loved the post and I'd love to have all my answers at the back, please.

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    1. I know I am still wandering the world searching for truth!

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  7. More than ever, our world needs those willing to ask good questions and hold their "answers" with a lighter grip. Because answers these days are more often used as clubs to bludgeon opponents than wisdom to bring healing.

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    Replies
    1. Words are often used as blunt instruments these days!

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  8. Can Hobbes just be the answer to everything?

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  9. Very thought-provoking. It looks like truth is basically whatever we know at the time. It was true that the world was flat a while back.

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    1. Illusion posing as truth has always been with us. :-( Good seeing you here again!

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  10. Well, that's probably why life doesn't come with answers: because answers keeps changing. And that's the beauty of life ;-)

    @JazzFeathers
    The Old Shelter - 1940s Film Noir

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  11. Hi, Roland,

    You said: "Perhaps the world and the universe in which it spins is just too vast for finite minds to comprehend fully. "

    I like to think the universe reflects what we ourselves are like -- really complex with unknown truths we should spend eternity trying to discover.

    Mirrors in nature, that's my fave.

    Thanks for posting!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for visiting! :-) i believe that the view we take of the universe reflects who we are inside. We are bits of the universe as you say -- made of stardust and dreams.

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  12. I guess life wants to keep us guessing. Wouldn't it be boring if we knew all the answers? :)
    Shubhangi @ The Little Princess

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    1. It might be depressing, too! Ouch. Let's hear it for happy surprises. :-)

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  13. Replies
    1. Glad to meet another Mark Twain fan! I like him so much that I put him in many of my novels ... my latest in fact. :-)

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  14. Thanks for visiting my blog. I miss Hobbs--a lot. We could use some of his snarky takes on life again. Take care!

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  15. Soi Pluto's a planet again? Good. I was pretty ticked off when it got "demoted."

    I missed everyone's A post on Saturday. Now I'm trying to read two posts today for each blog I follow that's participating in the A-Z!

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