Earlier today I was browsing some of the replies by other Steemians, on my musings. I came across a particularly good reply, that I felt warranted winning a 2 Steem prize in my Great Steem Giveaway.
However one thing I noticed, was that the poster mentioned that '..we don't know how they built the pyramids'.
Which of course we do, I pointed this out, and a quick Google search by the Steemian proved me correct.
I quickly pointed out that he shouldn't feel bad or embarrassed, as that is one of those urban myths that is repeated quite often.
By the way, the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids via a system of pulleys, scaffolding and a hell of a lot of manpower. Whilst also making sure they built the big ones right next to quarries, so as not to have too far to drag the stones.
Chinese Whispers
I've never really thought about why the game Chinese Whispers, is called that. Perhaps it is because the Chinese language is a tonal one, and at the same time very difficult. So it is easy to mispronounce, and therefore change the meaning of a story you've been told.
This is writ large over society, certain things start off as fact, and are slowly changed, however their status as fact, remains the same.
I'm not sure if that's the case with the pyramids, however maybe;
'It's remarkable that an ancient civilisation could have built something so amazing.'
Morphed into
'We have no idea how an ancient civilisation could have built something so amazing.'
The Anecdotal Spy
Anecdotes are a powerful tool, experiencing good storytelling can be an incredibly evocative experience.
Whether it's at the theatre, cinema, or just listening to a friend recite an unusual incident, we all love a good story.
It is this very power they hold over us, that can sometimes cause us to believe things that quite demonstrably, simply aren't true.
Vaccines Cause Autism (Not)
Woah, woah! I can already feel some of you twitching down to the comment section. All set to tell me a really convincing anecdote about how a vaccine did cause autism in a child you know, or know of.
If that is the case, then I can only express my sympathies towards that child. However anecdotal evidence pails into insignificance when measured up against decades of research into the subject.
Another one is 'man made climate change isn't real'.
It is, at least real in the sense that there is an overwhelming statistical likelihood that it is. So agreed by every credible scientific body on earth.
Even to the point where by the collective of geologists working for the petroleum producing companies, agree that there is a very heavy statistical indication that man assisted climate change is real.
Even those guys are admitting it, I mean, come on; surely, you can see that right?
A Matter Of Perspective
Of course, believing we don't know how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids is not nearly as harmful as believing it's safer not to vaccinate your child, or regulate heavy industrial polluters.
The weird thing is, all three of them are instantly disprovable. In the same way you can Google whether we know how the Egyptians built pyramids, so too can you use the same process to find out the truth about vaccines, and climate change.
However for some reason, as a society, it seems we simply ignore the evidence of lots of anecdotes put together, otherwise called research, over the circumstantial and incomplete evidence of a good, but completely isolated story.
Trust Issues?
Maybe as we get let down time after time by government, and big corporate institutions, and we are moving to the point we don't trust any organisation.
Unfathomably to me, it seems that the only large organisations that seem to garner any kind of mass trust anymore, are the various religions around the world.
Maybe if the Pope, or Ayatollah, or Dalai Lama all said climate change is real and vaccines are safe, everyone would believe them.
I'm wondering if this will lead anywhere, or if it is just a by-product of an inquisitive human mind that is obsessed with finding pattern in everything, and we simply have to live with it?
WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHY ARE CERTAIN THINGS BELIEVED ABOVE OTHERS, DESPITE THE EVIDENCE? NO MATTER YOUR VIEWS IN THE ISSUES I'VE RAISED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW BELOW WHAT YOU THINK.