Truth is very crucial to our progress

I ALWAYS thought ignorance was the worst state any human being could be in until I realised that the worst state was knowing the wrong truth. According to Daniel J. Boorstin, an American Historian, “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” 

The truth is that we all know something and we live our lives based on what we know. A few weeks ago I watched a movie…. In the movie, a group of people wanted to rob an organisation so one of the robbers disguised herself as a cleaner, went to the security room, distracted them and replaced their guns with toy guns.

When the robbers came in and started robbing, the security men noticed it and moved towards them. When they got close to them, in the heat of the moment the security men reached for their guns to shoot.

They pressed the trigger but nothing happened. They were in utter confusion as the robbers stood and laughed at them. This story is a clear portrait of what it means to have an illusion of knowledge. If they knew their guns had been replaced, they would have found another way to deal with the robbers. But because the guns weren’t taken but replaced, they couldn’t have known and that was more dangerous.

According to leo.notenboom.org, “The illusion of knowledge is a little more than simply being wrong and not realising it. It’s not questioning, or even being willing to question, that which you believe to be right.”

What is more, had I known is not always as a result of ignorance. Sometimes when people make that statement, what they are saying is that “had I known the truth, things would have been better.”

There is nothing more frightening than acting with your right information. So what is so important about having the right information?
One of my mentors, Prince Ampofo, who is a leadership expert, says that we either expand or shrink what we have in our hands based on the information we have. Also, if our life today is a sum of the choices we’ve made, and if the choices we make are dependent on the information available to us, it is safe to say that information is life.

Can you imagine how different life would be if we had some right information early?
With the little observation I have made, I can safely say that there are types of truths. Before you argue with me, why do people say, “Had I known…?” It is because they are now knowing the truth. An example of truth is subjective truth.

Subjective truth is captured in this article. It is also known as the illusion of knowledge. This is when the information we have is either entirely wrong or partly true. We’ll discuss the other types of truth later.

When it comes to knowing the truth, the source is as important as the information. There is an Akan adage that says, “If the frog tells you that the crocodile is dead, do not doubt it.” This adage corroborates the importance of the sources of information we receive.

The credibility of our information source is very important. I fear for people who give credibility to unreliable sources. In this age and era, it is so simple to peddle falsehood considering how social media allows us to reach the masses effortlessly.
Now more than ever, it is important that the information we accept goes through filtration. You cannot afford to accept any information.

Unfortunately, credible sources can be wrong sometimes. I have seen doctors misdiagnose patients. I have seen engineers fault at their work.
Therefore, it is important to assess the veracity of the information you accept. How recent is the information? How relevant is the information? What’s your source’s source?

The truth is very crucial to our progress. It is high time we began to question some “truths”? The only way to find out is by asking. The earlier we ask the questions we must ask, the better our lives will become. Be careful, your right can be wrong.