The Light of Truth: Sharpening Our Focus

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Hmmm, how can wedistinguish between truth and convincing lies?

In the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind, the character John Nash (played by Russell Crowe), declares his intention, during his time as a graduate student at Princeton University, to make a breakthrough in the field of Economics at the level of fundamental principles for his thesis. He eventually does in his own unconventional manner.

I am nowhere near theintellectual genius that Nash was and, thankfully, do not have his psychologicaldemons to battle. But I am analytical by nature which compels me to puzzlethrough why life unfolds the way it does, why people behave the way they do andwhat the forces are that drive both of these factors.

I am also somewhat rebellious by nature and disinclined to do what I am told to do if the rationale for doing so appears flawed to me. This tendency earns me friends on one side and enemies on the other.

The perplexing time in which we are living pushes both my analytical and rebellion buttons. Why, I wonder, are societal norms angling in a particular direction which seems counterproductive or counterintuitive? And why are some people falling in line with those norms without questioning the validity of the operating principles?

One of the operating principles in play is that information is a commodity, often with a dollar value attached to it, and is therefore subject to abuse. Information is power and can be wielded for good or bad purposes.

Information and truth are often equated. But they are not in fact interchangeableand are all too often at odds with one another.

Now we come to the issue of technology. The explosive growth of technology has spawned many ways of harnessing and dispensing information to the public. The technology itself is a mere tool. But those who know the ins and outs of how to use it can create their own version of the facts and present them as the gospel truth.

We are all consumers ofinformation. We have to be in order to function in society and situateourselves within it. Decisions affecting our lives require facts and theprocessing of them.

But here is the criticalconsideration. Processing facts does not by definition mean blindly acceptingthem. Processing means holding the facts up the light of reason to see if theyring true. If they do, all is good. But if they do not, we need to push back, exposethe falsehoods and act independently even if that means going against theprevailing opinion.

Light is often used as a metaphor for truth. Light illuminates and allows us to see more clearly. But light alone does not overturn falsehood. We have to use our ability to reason to focus and sharpen the light so that it exposes the web of falsehood where it exists and uncovers the truth buried beneath it.

~  Now Available Onlinefrom Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites ofPassage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is alsothe author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel whichwas a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me GoHmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribingare provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in theright sidebar. Ifyou’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularlyto my page for postings once a week.