A quotation from Russell, Bertrand
Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
“Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?” sec. “Don’t Be Too Certain!” (1949)
#quote #quotes #quotation #certainty #dogmatism #rationality #uncertainty #meme
Sourcing / notes: https://wist.info/russell-bertrand/6462/
Nonsense wakes up the brain cells. And it helps develop a sense of humor, which is awfully important in this day and age. Humor has a tremendous place in this sordid world. It’s more than just a matter of laughing. If you can see things out of whack, then you can see how things can be in whack.
Dr. Seuss (1904-1991) American author, illustrator [pseud. of Theodor Geisel]
“Author Isn’t Just a Cat in the Hat,” interview by Miles Corwin, Los Angeles Times (1983-11-27)
#quote #quotes #quotation #absurdity #humor #irrationality #nonsense #perspective #rationality #senseofhumor
Sourcing / notes: https://wist.info/seuss-dr/6241/
And one more for the side of #justice and #rationality amid a sea of #TrumpVirus...
Still waiting for #accountability for #Jan6 #sedition and "crime like nobody's ever seen before", nonstop, and he's still loose.
But for Lord StableGenius, it's 'try, try again'. And expecting a different result, with the same facts. As the saying goes... 'insanity'.
#dogma #theory #conjecture #notion #humility #npc #entertainideas #belief #ideas #nonbelief #noosphere #exploreideas #explorationofideas #refinementofideas #refinementofknowledge #evolutionofideas #cantgettherefromhere #earth #water #fire #air #love #throat #voice #space #ether #mind #spirit #gnosticism #gnosis #theoryofknowledge #truth #falsehood #falsifiability #psychology #beyondpsychology #noway #way #scientificmethods #thescientificmethod #dialogue #dialogues #rhetoric #discussion #conversation #logic #howdoyouknow #opinion #opinionmaking #rational #rationale #rationality #reason #argument #disagreement #hierarchyofdisagreement #debatepyramid #selfdefeatingargument #conflict #conflictresolution #higherminded #grounded #interestingperspective #differingperspectives #resolution #resolving #resolute #stubornmindedness #openmindedness #freethought #freespeech #debate #look #perspective
I love this
If you’re seeking truth, you’re absolutely allowed to do what Srinivasan Ramanujan did when he discovered how to simplify a certain kinds of previously unsolvable math problem:
It is simple. The minute I heard the problem, I knew that the answer was a continued fraction. ‘Which continued fraction?’ I asked myself. Then the answer came to my mind
If we define rationality as “the study of truth-seeking”, this is good at the “truth-seeking” part, but bad at the “study” part. He got the right answer. The truth was successfully sought, the diamond was found. But he can’t explain to anyone else how he did it - he just has a good knack for this kind of thing.
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/what-are-we-arguing-about-when-we
