While browsing the net because I can't sleep with this wretched cold, I came across this intriguing little brain teaser from Dean's World.

Intriguing in itself, but even more so for the conclusions he draws from it.

Facts are a mavelous levelling device, once you've got hold of one. Theories and logic be damned, a fact is a fact!

Frequently this sort of attitude will be mistaken for arrogance. This is because people commonly mistake confidence and certainty with arrogance. But confidence and certainty are what allowed us to do things like design bridges, put men on the moon, cure diseases, and create things like the internet. As long as your confidence and certainty is always tempered with, "Well, maybe I'm wrong, just show me where," you'll rarely go wrong.

All this forms the lynchpin of my personal phlosophy of life: the universe is knowable. Facts do exist and do not always conform themselves to our preconceptions or our wishes. When confronted with a fact that challelnges your world view, it's your job to chage your world view - at least, if you want to be an intellectually honest person. Living this way, you can be very certain about some things, not at all certain about others. Knowing which is which is the constant challenge.

But it's an infinitely rewarding challenge, if you take it seriously.