rattus rattus’ blog

If someone claims that there is specific knowledge about something you are in fact expected to accept her or his view of it.

This is not only a lie in the sense that I expect you to accept my view of my knowledge about someone’s claims.
It’s a statement that provokes self-contradiction per se in the sense that knowledge is somewhere, for instance, printed in books or published in papers. Knowledge, here, is understood as something that can be reasoned, explained, discovered, acquired, agreed upon, and verified, or at least falsified.

But, if there is such a thing as a view of knowledge, if there are people who believe to know something and who believe that others do not, then knowledge does depend on someone’s perspective.

Whenever I say “it is known that” or “we know that” I’d always rather expect someone else’s denial.

By the way, I find it very interesting to search Google for phrases such as “it is known that“, and “we know that“.

This blog is out of order!

We are currently facing a major power blackout. This reminds me of an old question: How do you know whether something is out of order?
One day, I have seen a modern touch screen terminal where you are supposed to buy tickets. The screen was lid and it showed the clearly readable text: “Out of order!”. Obviously, the machine was not out of order.

How can you make a machine say that it is out of order, if it apparently is not when it does say so? I’d say smash it with a slash hammer, and stick up a sheet of paper that reads — handwritten, of course: Out of order!

Pulling the power plug often helps, too. ;-)

Have you ever tried to prove something indirectly? I am pretty sure you are doing it all day long. According to Wikipedia, see Wikipedia: Indirect Proof, it is as simple as the following:

If you have no water, you can’t make coffee.

This seems to be undoubtedly true to me, at least since adolescence. And it is because water is one of the essential ingredients for coffee.
Let us apply the nice rules of Indirect Proving to another statement that is true.

First the statement itself:
This statement is true.

Now, we assume that it is wrong (meaning “we have no water”). Then we will see if this leads to a contradiction (or something as unbearable as “being unable to make more coffee”).

If the statement is wrong, that is
“This statement is true” is wrong.
it follows that This statement is wrong. Because of this, saying the statement is wrong, it follows that The statement is true. But this contradicts our assumption.

Witty readers probably see that the proof did not precisely lead to a contradiction but to a paradox. Let me suggest that for a moment, we adopt this paradoxical situation here as being as futile as a contradiction.

Well, here is another example of an often heard, and certainly true statement right for you to try out what we have just learned:

I am saying the truth.

. . .

Go ahead, contradict me!

Heinz von Foerster shares with us a beautiful riddle about trust and truth. When I wrote about it my working title was “Trust not truth”. I was thinking this title forth and back because one of my inner voices kept yelling something like “You can’t say one shall not trust the truth if Heinz von Foerster clearly shows that truth is based on trust. I mean, what else could we do but trust the truth?
Trust not truth is nonsense. Put it in your Nonsense Box.”

I did see that “trust not truth” can be read in many ways, too. One being “trust — not truth”. Yet, I eventually changed the title to “The problem is not truth” as if this was any less nonsense. But, I could always say it’s a quote of a quote of a quote :-) That’s why.

So, the problem is trust — not truth.
And this is the truth.

What? You mean there is probably more to it? You mean trust not truth? — Oh, yes, you got me on this one ’cause I am a liar.

The trouble with feedback is … feedback ;-)

First, we may ask how do we get feedback. This is simple because there is always feedback even if there is none since this is feedback, at least when you have been asking.

Thus, there is always feedback.

Now that we have feedback we may wonder what it says about us. It might be charming, and it might be disastrous (though I never know what to prefer, so it might be the other way round). But then, if you are asking for feedback you’d better expect some. If you do not like it, maybe it helps asking where it came from.
Anyway, we are probably well advised to ask what the feedback tells us about those who provided it. You know, they may be liars. Watch out!

Look closer! I am sure you will find something.

Eventually, we may want to ask for feedback about the feedback we have just received. As we are generally pretty much involved ourselves we are best asking outsiders and third parties for … feedback about the feedback. Some do this at social gatherings in a pub. A company might have implemented monitoring, service providers might have engaged mystery shoppers, our universities prefer “evaluation”, psychologists and therapists tend to call it supervision.

Feedback about feedback.

But can you trust it? — Oh dear, back to the start!
Ask for feedback about feedback about feedback, and do not forget to give me some, too.

You probably know the feeling of being not accepted the way you are. Since many years, for instance, my grandmother wants me to cut my hair. Some friends, as you might imagine, dislike what I am writing. Others, it appears, can’t stop moaning about my way of life. Why is it so difficult to accept me just the way I am?

Maybe, it’s because
if I am feeling not accepted by others, if I wish others would accept the way I am, then I do not accept others the way they are. I simply do not accept that they do not accept me.

Today, in a conversation with a friend I wrote

If something leads to a contradiction
it is probably true.

I believe this is probably true.

The original text was in German but that does not render it less strange:

Wenn etwas auf einen Widerspruch hinausläuft,
ist es vermutlich wahr.