On the continuum of quantities, myriad stands closer to one than to infinity.
And a pluralist who believes in myriad truths stands closer to the absolutist with his one Truth than to the relativist who believes in an infinite number of truths.
But nobody is forcing us to chose between inferior conceptions — unless we are not up to a superior conception.
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Be careful when presenting an either/or, and especially when it is obvious that only two options exist: You are putting your intellectual limitations on display.
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Are you wise to philosophy? Then don’t do philosophy. Avoiding philosophical thought is the best strategy for honoring and preserving your miraculous inborn wisdom.
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Many have confusion, and many have answers. Only an elite few have questions.
Most people are simply too naive to recognize that a clearly posed question is an enormous accomplishment.
They think a question is only a means to an answer, and that if you already have an answer, questions are regressive or superfluous.
So in situations where questions need to be understood, confused people are ready with techniques, plans of action, goals, examples — anything to fill up the void of confusion. But voids of confusion do not need filling, they need clearing. Filling them only adds more confusion. And that’s where the confusion came from in the first place: from other confused minds.
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Only equals can collaborate as equals. Non-equals need hierarchy — with those who would prefer equality at the top.
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Four categories of people:
- “I do not understand it; I can neither explain nor intuit it.”
- “I know intuitively, but I can’t explain it.”
- “I can explain it, but I don’t intuit it.”
- “I understand it intuitively, and I can explain it.”
Some people get so used to not fully understanding, that they come to think of understanding as just intuitive knowing, or just producing an explanation.
Some people split the world up into different domains, and have different standards of understanding for each: Some things can only be intuited, other things can only be explained. Such people are naive.
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We have names for permanent naivety.