I was never really a fan of physics growing up, I could probably point to a couple of reasons why, but the most sensational is that I went through 6 or 7 physics teachers in senior secondary school, tough luck. However I loved mathematics a lot, it was probably my first real love. Looking back now it is quite hilarious how I associated mathematics more with reality, despite its abstract nature than I did physics. For a long time physics was dead to me, until I adopted the veil of the dilettante after school; then a love for physics sprang from nowhere.
What I love about (Newtonian)physics is its practical nature. Every technology we have created has its backing in some law of physics, amongst others of course. Physics aims to explain how the universe works, and I am here to exploit physics because why not? The Universe certainly doesn’t mind.
So I will be drawing an analogy between expanding your mind/challenging your core beliefs and one of the better known laws of physics - Hooke’s law. Hooke’s law is this simple but intoxicating idea that the amount of force (F) needed to extend or compress a spring by a certain distance is directly proportional to that distance. Crazy right? You can skip the mathematical jargon below if you like.
Hooke’s Law:
F ∝ e
To remove the proportionality sign and use an equal to sign instead, we add a constant I will call K,
Therefore: F = K * e
Where F = Force, e = extension, K = constant, * = multiplication
So there we have it, Hooke’s law in all its elegance. The idea is simple, the more force you exert on an elastic material, the more it stretches. When you try to expand your worldview (knowledge, mind, perspective etc), by analogy you are expending a force (F), and the more your beliefs change, the longer your mind stretches (e). But this is not the end of the story, for the behavior of an elastic material, there is something called a stress vs strain curve which predicts the behavior of an elastic material under duress. Here Stress represents force again and Strain is the the length by which the material will stretch. Below is a sample stress vs strain curve:
What I am really interested is in not the shape of the curve itself, but the labels associated with it. This is where my analogy really begins. Let’s examine the parallels I’m trying to draw between stretching an elastic material and stretching your mind.
Proportional Limit
This can be traced on the curve from point O to A. In this space the elastic material in question obeys Hooke’s law perfectly. Here the force (stress) exerted on the elastic material is directly proportional to the strain (extension) experienced. By analogy, here you are safe within your beliefs, you never stray too far from the center. You might venture out and stretch your mind like the elastic material, but overall your worldview remains largely unchallenged. When you stretch a rubber-band up to a certain point for example, it still returns to its original form. That is exactly what happens here, even when you challenge what you believe, you do not stray very far from safety, you do not question your fundamental beliefs. It’s very cozy on this part of the curve, you ain’t got no worries, you do not suffer any significant dissonance and even if you do, it can be explained away fairly easily.
Elastic Limit
This happens at point A in the graph above, and it means exactly what you think it does. Beyond this point, the material no longer returns to its original position after extension. Here maybe you keep encountering point of views that challenge your worldview, but one thing’s for sure — you have been contaminated by the metaphorical forbidden fruit. You have reached your elastic limit, you can no longer account for deviations in your mind, you notice incoherence and are deeply perturbed by it, you can no longer explain away ideas that do not confirm yours by a simple wave of hand. Here you can either regress into the familiar or forge ahead, if perhaps you possess a sense of adventure.
Yield Point
Beyond the elastic limit, a permanent deformation happens in the material. You start to think maybe it is time to abandon theese beliefs so fundamental to how you view the world but not quite yet. You hold on to any glimmer of hope that confirms the familiar. You make excuses, you know it doesn’t make sense, but peace of mind might be more important to you than congruity. This is not a bad thing, we are all human after all. Your mind is probably mired in conflict, especially if the beliefs being challenged are fundamental to your sense of identity and place in the world. Maybe an existential crisis threatens the foundations of the truth you have invested so much confirmation bias into establishing and maintaining. You might also risk social exclusion, you begin to do the math. Your bubble is about to burst at the prick of a pin but you hold steady still, under the illusion that you can still save yourself. It may be too late, the damage most likely has already been done.
Ultimate stress point
This basically corresponds to the maximum load, force, strain the material can take before failure. Here you have reached your limit and must make a decision.
Breaking Point
This is the point in the behavior of the material where the stress is so much, it breaks. For human beings, it’s not that simple. I will say one of two things can happen here; it’s either you completely abandon your old belief system and change your mind, or revert to your old system of beliefs, maybe because you surmise that the strain is not worth it.
Which are you?
Above, I have woven a sexy narrative. A narrative that will not hold true in all cases. However if you have ever interrogated the world with an honest and curious mind it should be familiar. But even after you go through all this rigor, it is important to note that you need to leave your mind open and avoid what I will call Epistemic Arrogance (more on this later).
Growing up, I never liked reading (I still don’t), I like ideas instead. This sounds disingenuous, but for me reading is a boring, tenuous and a mentally intensive exercise. Reading is also the oldest, fastest, and give or take the most efficient way of gaining knowledge at the moment. I read because I want to know. The human race has a long history with books since we invented writing.
When I first started reading about the ideas of the Greeks, down through the middle ages and so on, I was astonished at just how similar some of the earliest problems of philosophy were to my private thoughts. A sense of pride flooded me at first and I thought maybe I am not so stupid after all. But then it hit me, here I am here, alive in 2017, and by virtue of my position on the wheel of time, I have access to a vast pool of knowledge which includes thoughts from the ancients I had compared myself to.
I stumbled upon a paradox - The more you read, the more you realize just how much you do not know.
Yes, you might know more than the idiots you despise, who are not blessed with the brand of curiosity you possess, but something we must realize is that our knowledge is similar to a candle light in relation to the totality of knowledge possible in our universe. If our knowledge base is ALWAYS increasing, it is fair to deduce that there is an insanely large body of knowledge out there that we cannot yet account for, and possibly never will, because of many reasons.
So technically even if you are more knowledgeable than the average human being, the difference in knowledge you possess compared to that of the average Joe is not up to any remotely sensible percentage of the difference between the total knowledge in the universe and what you actually know. I know, I know, it’s none of your business, but it should help you be humble and to not over stretch the limits of what you do know. More important than knowing anything at all is realizing the limits of your knowledge. Failure to account for this is Epistemic Arrogance, this can be more dangerous than complete ignorance on occasion, and sometimes both are indistinguishable.
So my message is simple; be brave enough to expand your worldview, but also be humble enough to realize when you are out of depth and ask for help, admit your ignorance, learn from it and do not be so afraid to make mistakes you do not even try to learn anything at all.
