"The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history." — George Orwell.
In the age of fake news and "alternative truths," it has become more challenging to weigh ideas objectively.
But, it turns out, a person's mindset will, most of the time at least, rise over the situation. Having good judgment, making accurate predictions, and making the right decisions, are mostly derived from our experiences and how personalities developed over time.
Some information and ideas will feel like our allies. We defend them because we want them to win and because these concepts lie close to or within our core values and experiences. However, we may treat other information or opinions as to the enemy, and we want to shoot them down without taking a good look at the evidence. It is because this information threatens our central building blocks of knowledge.
Maybe you have read an article about a controversial topic, but your acceptance of its content is dependent on your previous opinions and core past beliefs. Research shows that you're more likely to make positive decisions if the information is close to your original opinion, whether or not the article is controversial or not. If the information suggests a different perspective to what you are not comfortable with, you're more likely to claim the article is not valid. But if it supports your opinion, then it's simply a good article. Our unconscious beliefs just strongly influence our judgment, which affects which side of the topic we would move toward or want to win.
The question is: Why are some people able to cut through society's conventions and their own prejudices? How can some people abandon their biases and see the facts and evidence as objectively as they can?
The answer can be found with one visionary who seeks not to be constrained by everyday norms. Bob Sablatura's journey in writing Dark Matter, Unified Field Theory, and Ufo'S, Are Understandable and Achievable. When Bob was five years old, he started to wonder about the things around him, watching science programs to satisfy his desire for answers. This desire to know why, what and how, drove him into the wondrous world of science, where he became a science teacher for over twenty-five years.
Bob's love for science is the drive not to make one idea win or lose. It's not proving one's opinion right, but rather searching for the objective truth. The search for knowledge is not about who is right or wrong but about trying to understand what the universe has to offer us. Becoming interested in science gives us our first step in a true understanding of how the universe works.
When you have a curious mindset, you tend to consider all the variables and try to avoid tampering with the result as much as possible. It's about trying to get a sense of reality even when it's unpleasant or inconvenient, which is how you're supposed to think to get an unbiased judgment. So next time you encounter an idea with contradicting sides, stay curious and use your scientific mindset. Never stop asking questions, and judge information or ideas based on their merits.
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