What Information?

There is something called the "Sammelweis Reflex" developed in 1840.

The definition of this reflex is: Ignore information if it does not fit within ones world view.

There is another theory which says that it is possible for a person to have induced blindness which involves obedience to a belief how the world works that prevents seeing how the world really works.

Where did I find such challenging ideas? In a book entitled "The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has An Expiration Date" by Samuel Arbesman.  2012

At first the writing in this book struck me as an attempt to destroy all intellectual endeavor and gathering of knowledge as a total waste of time. In the long run I came to realize that Arbesman pushes all claims of certainty about facts to absurdity.  He is a mathematician and network scientist. The notes say he likes to have fun.

My life has been spent working the people who have to make constant decisions on how to manage daily life, raise children, do company management, make military decisions, and create dinner. Those are the easy things. Then comes suicide, taking opioids, memory loss, when to have sex, and such weighty matters. 

The body/mind makes so many decisions for us as each moment passes. How the world really works is at the core of this thought exercise. For the people at the funeral for Muhammad Ali yesterday their universe was on display. The world view was clear as words can express a culture. The expressed world view was interesting but how little staying power does it have? Ali spent years working on the funeral so that it would send a message in this communications based world.

Now the moment is history and the Sammelweis Reflex takes over. Information will be ignored. How does the world really work? These blips of widely viewed information will fade into the background noise of the universe.

My field is religion. The Christian Religion. I am suspicious of all who claim to have the ultimate truth in their toolkit of life. Including myself.