Monday, April 04, 2005
Learning by denial
Quite often, we become victims of our own knowledge!
Early stage of our learning, we move with doubt, caution or skeptism, depending on the topic, our previous knowledgebase, source of new information etc. However, soon the knowledge gets embedded in our very being and is taken for granted ... source & validity rarely questioned, by the self and we resist questions from others as they seem like a question on ourselves.
1+1 is assumed always to be 2, while we know that it could be different depending on the context, ... also, 1 and + are only notations for something. Till this realization comes, 1 the notation and the 1 the notion are intertwined.
Here, comes the importance of denial. In Indian approach, we say the realization (of the supreme Brahma, from the point of knowledge pursuit) can be only by denial (Ne/ethi... ie. Na Ithi ... That is "not that'). Disassociating ourselves & knowledge to its source
Early stage of our learning, we move with doubt, caution or skeptism, depending on the topic, our previous knowledgebase, source of new information etc. However, soon the knowledge gets embedded in our very being and is taken for granted ... source & validity rarely questioned, by the self and we resist questions from others as they seem like a question on ourselves.
1+1 is assumed always to be 2, while we know that it could be different depending on the context, ... also, 1 and + are only notations for something. Till this realization comes, 1 the notation and the 1 the notion are intertwined.
Here, comes the importance of denial. In Indian approach, we say the realization (of the supreme Brahma, from the point of knowledge pursuit) can be only by denial (Ne/ethi... ie. Na Ithi ... That is "not that'). Disassociating ourselves & knowledge to its source
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Limits of 'Science'
Quite often, we find many arguments being claimed as scientific implying authenticity of the statement.
What is often forgotten are limits of 'science' the way we define.
In science, we consciously choose some specific techniques which can be classified as 'divide & conquer' or 'abstract'; and often their combination (in any case, the big picture is lost). This restricts the space in which our theories operate and hence its validity. Further, our hypothesis are validated with deduction, contradiction or induction. Most logical, in the general sense of 'logic', being the former and least being induction as induction is more of an extrapolation. Quite often the dependence on a priori knowedge even for the former limits the validity of hypothesis testing.
These limits the scope of science to a limited space, data (pure data from the limited space is often hard to come by, in the attempts of scientific approaches in daily life) on which our theories are based and However, we apply or extend theories quite often these limitations are overlooked and scientific premises are presented and accepted more like gospel truths, abusing the very value and sanctity of 'science'.
What is often forgotten are limits of 'science' the way we define.
In science, we consciously choose some specific techniques which can be classified as 'divide & conquer' or 'abstract'; and often their combination (in any case, the big picture is lost). This restricts the space in which our theories operate and hence its validity. Further, our hypothesis are validated with deduction, contradiction or induction. Most logical, in the general sense of 'logic', being the former and least being induction as induction is more of an extrapolation. Quite often the dependence on a priori knowedge even for the former limits the validity of hypothesis testing.
These limits the scope of science to a limited space, data (pure data from the limited space is often hard to come by, in the attempts of scientific approaches in daily life) on which our theories are based and However, we apply or extend theories quite often these limitations are overlooked and scientific premises are presented and accepted more like gospel truths, abusing the very value and sanctity of 'science'.
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