I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t believed it.
Marshall McLuhan
[This applies to many things. Once you believe the earth is round it is pretty easy to prove it. Once you believe it is possible to defend yourself with a firearm you see how it can be done and is easily a part of your everyday life.
The risk is that once you believe something you may see things that are not there. For example, if you believe everyone is watching you then you can probably find sufficient evidence to maintain that belief. If you believe guns are only useful for murder then you can find evidence to maintain that belief. The same goes for man caused global warming (or cooling) and the benefits of socialism.
The solution to the dilemma is to understand how to distinguish truth from falsity detached from all belief and emotion. I’m saddened to report this appears to be much more difficult than it seems and far, far too rare.–Joe]
Amusing.
On that “Earth is not flat” bit, I was surprised when I realized how commonplace the evidence was; it is available to anyone who travels long distances and keeps an eye out for tall objects (like mountains or towers).
That discovery cemented in my mind the knowledge that I didn’t need to depend on “everyone knows” to know something.