Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Truth, Lies And Fantasies
A young man once asked me a question on an issue. So I replied him with an answer based on my understanding on the issue and the information that I had. When I finished, he then asked me whether I was sure of my answer. I told him that based on what I knew, I was pretty sure about that. He then further asked me whether I would bet my life on the answer I had given. As I have only one life and being a non-gambler, I told him that I would not bet my life on the answer nor would I bet my life on anything else. The young man then said that since I could not bet my life on it, what I said was not the truth and that I must be lying and giving him the incorrect answer.
The incident left me pondering. What is actually the truth? When we say something or when we provide certain information, we do that in good faith believing that what we say is the truth or a true version of an issue. This depends on the amount of information we have, and how details these information are. Sometimes, over a period of time, events happened long ago become blurred in our minds and we cannot recollect the exact details in total complete accuracy. So when we recount those events, are we telling the truth or are we lying?
Most of the times, we say something believing that it is true based on the existing believe, policy, rules and regulations. But these believe and rules are subject to change with time. So what is true yesterday may be wrong today. For instant, it was true that we must pay our vehicle registration by queuing up at the Vehicle Registration Department yesterday. Today, it is no longer true, because we can now pay over the Internet without queuing up. Six hundred years ago, it was true that the sun revolved around the earth because everybody could see it was the case. Today, we believe that the earth rotates around the sun.
For some people, when an imagination is played too often in their minds, the dream and imagination appears to be true. So when a person speaks the truth, it cannot be certain that the truth is based on established facts and events or based on a firm set of believe. Over times, information, data, details, dream, believe, rules, guidelines, expectations, and all the rest become blended as one. The boundaries among them are blurred. Therefore, in a true version of event, there are bound to be some details that are not true. It would be up to the listeners to analyse and judge the extent of truthfulness in any event.
The incident left me pondering. What is actually the truth? When we say something or when we provide certain information, we do that in good faith believing that what we say is the truth or a true version of an issue. This depends on the amount of information we have, and how details these information are. Sometimes, over a period of time, events happened long ago become blurred in our minds and we cannot recollect the exact details in total complete accuracy. So when we recount those events, are we telling the truth or are we lying?
Most of the times, we say something believing that it is true based on the existing believe, policy, rules and regulations. But these believe and rules are subject to change with time. So what is true yesterday may be wrong today. For instant, it was true that we must pay our vehicle registration by queuing up at the Vehicle Registration Department yesterday. Today, it is no longer true, because we can now pay over the Internet without queuing up. Six hundred years ago, it was true that the sun revolved around the earth because everybody could see it was the case. Today, we believe that the earth rotates around the sun.
For some people, when an imagination is played too often in their minds, the dream and imagination appears to be true. So when a person speaks the truth, it cannot be certain that the truth is based on established facts and events or based on a firm set of believe. Over times, information, data, details, dream, believe, rules, guidelines, expectations, and all the rest become blended as one. The boundaries among them are blurred. Therefore, in a true version of event, there are bound to be some details that are not true. It would be up to the listeners to analyse and judge the extent of truthfulness in any event.
