The Certain Uncertainty Principle

I think that the more we learn, the less confident we become.

I think that macroscopically this idea could be applied to humanity's transition from religion to science. When we knew less we thought things happened because there was a all-knowing God that controlled our fates. Now that we now about DNA, bacteria and other complexities of the world, we can't be as certain that we aren't all alone.

Microscopically the idea could apply to a single man's life. A naive young man is full of confidence and bravado, but a hardened older man is wise and tempered.

I heard Andrew Denton say that there should be a University where students graduate when they admit that they don't know anything. He knows what I'm talking about. It is to learn so much that there is always an alternative solution to suggest. A myriad of possibilities leading to intellectual confusion.

I call this phenomenon The Certain Uncertainty Principle. This principle could be a negative influence for us, but I think there is one thing that turns it into a positive.

Can it be denied that we all possess a degree of innate wisdom? Can children not smell a lie and find the truth in complex situations? I think this innate wisdom allows us to see through the fog of a thousand alternate solutions. An innate wisdom to find parsimony.I think that with learning it is easy to forget this innate wisdom that we all possess as children.

True geniuses are those of us who have learned enough to become experts and then reintroduced themselves to their innate wisdom. These true geniuses possess Informed Wisdom.

I remember reading a Pablo Picasso quote saying that as a child he could paint like Rembrant, but that it took him a lifetime to learn to paint like a child.

I know exactly what he meant.

Existentialism, evolution and making it to tomorrow

I can distinctly remember thinking that existentialism was something that narcissistic people spouted about when they wanted to portray themselves as deep.

I never really knew why. But then I never really knew what existentialism was.

From Wikipedia: "Existentialism is a philosophical movement which posits that individual human beings create the meaning and essence of their lives"

Existentialism is actually something I have considered for a long time.

I grew up in a family that was pretty much agnostic, though my mother is Christian and took us to Church every now and then. I never really believed in Christ though, so I can't say I ever really was a Christian.

When I was doing my science degree I did a bunch of genetics courses and learned about evolution. I learned that humans are but biological entities that have come to fruition through natural selection, will to survive and random chance.

On the time line of biological life, humans are but a speck. On the time line of the universe, I don't think there is something small enough to describe us.

I also learned about how elaborate our bodies are. How there is an unfathomable complexity within each and every one of us. A million different biological mechanisms are at play even while we sleep.

Indeed, it is a miracle that we exist.

This made me question my lack of belief. Is it possible that such an elaborate system of cells could come together so successfully by shear chance as my studies had taught me?

After carefully consideration, I came to the conclusion that yes, the evolutionary drama of natural selection, biological will to survive and random chance played out over an incredible length of time could have created us and our environment.

It just seemed so incredibly unlikely. What are the chances? I wouldn't back that horse.

Still, I accepted that there did not need to be a creative force, one that oversees the world ensuring things go toward some divine plan. Things just happen.

To me this is existentialism. What we do does not matter. We are free to do whatever we please.

But is this knowledge a blessing or a curse?

This liberation could allow us to follow our own unique path, developing our own priorities, morals and doing what we feel is best.

But I can also see it being taken another way. We don't matter, so why bother doing anything at all? Also, when our lives take a turn for the worst, who do we turn to in times of need?

An aside: I think the latter point is why religion was created. Some person or group of people saw others in pain and created a means for them to believe that their lives were meaningful and that there was someone looking out for them. I also think religion was created as a mechanism to control the population beyond law-enforcement.

I have come to believe in somewhat of an intermediate between existentialism and traditional religion.

To me, the biological will to live is the common force that has united us to each other and our living environment since that day when primordial soup + lightning equaled life.

Life is what I believe in.

I find some similarities between my belief and a belief in Gaia, which to my understanding is a belief in mother Earth. The difference being that I don't really put much spiritual weight on a rock or a grain of dirt. Still when people ask me if I am religious I usually answer that I believe in something similar to Gaia.

It's a lot faster than going through all the above.