Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Proof

I recently attended a Diversity Networking Forum. When I got there a man asked me, "so, why are you here?" As if to insinuate that I needed a preexisting condition to qualify my attendance. I was under the impression that the whole purpose of diversity was to dispel stereotypes...?

I recently heard an interview with a musician. He explained that science dispels magic. That scientists are able to put facts behind a myth and take the fun out of the fable. That no one believes in anything anymore. That we need proof before we can put our faith in anything.

Osama Bin Laden is dead at sea....fish out his body and bring it on a US Tour. We won't believe it until we put our fingers in his wounds.

It's kind of sad that we have become so mistrusting. It is a shame that we need undeniable proof to validate the use of our time. Show me the statistics and I will evaluate next steps with the committee of me.

Maybe there are 2 types of people:
Those who act in good faith
Those who cannot act without proof that their actions will produce results

Are results all that matter? If we only did things with the certainty that it would produce a winning formula would we experience anything new? Would we ever find a new frontier if we feared to travel there without a proven path through the forest?

Data has never been more accessible. So it is incumbent upon us to ensure we have all the facts before we act, right?

Wrong!

We are not robots. Not everything has to have a finite end game. Progress evades so many of us because we are afraid that the lack of proof would invalidate our effort. Our need to have evidence makes us normal, predictable...sad.


We all want to be great but sometimes we fail to recognize that greatness is a result of exploring the unproven. To act without evidence catapults us into the unknown. The exploring of the unknown is a process of education. Every time we try something unproven we get closer to creating something new.

Maybe the aforementioned musician was wrong. Maybe scientists create magic. Their quest being the creation of the magic formula not an effort to dispel our faith in the unknown.

There cannot be a question that trying something new is a wonderful waste of time. With each mistrial comes another door, another path in the woods, another chance to disprove what has been certified.

Without excitement we cannot thrive. Without the mystery of the unknown we cannot generate excitement.

The door is open.....

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

2 comments:

  1. Great post Dave but, I think there is a third type of person. Those that will never accept the truth about something because it doesn't correspond with their preconceived idea of the way things should be.

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  2. You are correct, Ned - the world is full of dogs who wish not to learn new tricks for fear of catching their underside on a fence post. Well said! - DK

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