The default state of knowledge is UNKNOWN
Therefore, when you realise what you thought you knew was false — you usually just return to that pitiful state of NOT knowing
Sometimes you at least learn what is NOT
But often you don’t even know that
Often the only thing you learned is that you:
-can’t be so sure
-it’s not so clear
-the explanation could be different
-etc.
Of course we do the very opposite, epistemically
We catch a whiff of plausible explanation — and we think we have the answers
Or even less than that — plausible-sounding is enough to seduce us
…Of course we wouldn’t bet on it
No, the goal was not the understanding of the workings of the world — the goal was being the one with opinions
And when we stand corrected?
Or when we’re pressed to the wall, forced to take ownership of our cheap talk?
Then we backpedal
…and we backpedal often into the other extreme
For you see, the first argument against your precious opinion, that you already capitulated to — is now more than enough to be the first argument FOR your new opinion — which is that of the OPPOSITE STANCE to your previous one
It works even better with more serious views, however
All your 10 reasons to believe something, if refuted — serve now as “10 misleading traps”, that you managed to overcome
It even looks like a beautiful journey
Like you meandering and seeking the way, and finally finding it
Changing your mind is, of course, a wonderful thing
It’s better than doubling down on one’s delusions long after the emergence of falsifying evidence
But you don’t just “earn” the truth by going through a journey
By witnessing a “battle of ideas”,
You might still be just as much in the dark as you were before,
You only get the illusory impression that you are now more sophisticated
Don’t view knowledge and understanding and TRUTH in terms of an “ideological evolution”, resulting in a “beautiful journey”,
Life is not a movie
Stories can help, can be a useful abstraction
Or can be misleading
Truth is not a matter of a great story, this is not hollywood
Truth is a matter of logical coherence, evidence and falsifiable claims (that have not yet been falsified)
It’s not very romantic