A grain of salt

My parents, the geniuses they are, have always told me to take everything I hear with a grain of salt. If you aren’t familiar with the phrase, it basically means you shouldn’t believe everything you hear.

Urban Dictionary definition: to take something lightly, especially with advice. To be skeptical.

So, take everything you hear with a grain of salt.

With social media, news, and information passed on from word of mouth, we all hear many things. Some things may be facts, but many are opinions or theories.

People have even made websites or pages that deliberately spread fake truths to highlight that what you read in the internet isn’t necessarily true.

This is why your teachers are always telling you to cite. They are making sure you aren’t full of crap. (Plus all you have to do is give credit and BAM you have strengthened your argument, it’s a win-win.)

That gives whatever you are trying to say a stronger argument. You can trust that knowledge more. More believable. Less salt required, you could say.

For me, whenever I write one of these things here on medium, it’s an opinion piece. I try to make it obvious, I’m speaking from my knowledge and beliefs (however limited they may be).

For others, they are being persuasive. Which, for the matter, is smart. We are taught that strong language makes your point a stronger one, and that’s why we can’t use passive voice in formal writing. We shouldn’t use? Can’t use? You know which is stronger. Mmm, the power of words.

But back to the point at hand, whatever you read has a bias. A person writes from what they know, has opinions, and can never be fully objective. We can’t. We are human.

So, all I am trying to get at is, don’t trust everything you read, but don’t become untrusting altogether. You don’t need to be like René Descartes, skeptic if ANYTHING in life is real, or an illusion. This isn’t the matrix. (See this.)

So be a little bit skeptic, but not full blown Neo, and keep learning.

Also don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Philosophize a little bit too. Question things.