Quote of the day: "Blind believe in authority is the greatest enemy of truth." Albert Einstein
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.He didn't have "fake news" in his time or he might have revised that quote
lerlo
Level 8
Oct 19, 2018
0
I don't think so lerlo. I think he would have kept it as written. More so in this era of "fake news" as it it is precisely that blind belief that can ingrain false facts and narratives onto people. We should trust but verify always! Thanks for input.
Maybe that’s why Al didn’t get along very well in his Catholic school. You can bet he wasn’t in the gifted program, and he no doubt got his knuckles rapped more than a few times. Anger and rebellion might have fueled his entire amazing career, and we are the beneficiaries.
It reminds me of Edison, who never darkened the door of a school, and William Faulkner who dropped out after sixth grade. You can bet that if Faulkner had taken creative writing classes we would never have heard of him.
Besides churches and schools, most of the authority figures I have had to deal with were silly bureaucrats and politicians. But those were nothing compared to figures like Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc. Yet misguided people are clamoring to bring that sort of authoritarianism to the US.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
Oct 19, 2018
1
Well said William!!!
i'm sure that would be "belief," not "believe."
yes, of course. but the key word is "blind," not "belief." it is okay to believe what you're told when you've checked it out, especially if you trust the particular purveyor (but still verify, because even good people can make mistakes). the meaning isn't to distrust all authority just for BEING authority. of course these days, with who's in power, that can fly too.
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genessa
Level 8
Oct 19, 2018
1
It is actually “Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” ― Albert Einstein
The version with Believe is prevalent on the internet and originates from an Indian web site where google translate brought the quote back in to English incorrectly and was unthinkingly copied on to various web sites.
The original quote is easily verifiable.
@LenHazell53 yes of course. the original may have been in german to start with, although since he did also live in new jersey, einstein could originally have said it in english. i didn't feel it was important enough to verify; i knew "believe" was wrong and thought i'd mention it but it certainly wasn't the point of my comment.
g
@genessa Fair enough, 
Yes genessa, I misspelled belief and am unsure how to edit. Anyhow, I agree that the key word is "blind," as belief is a matter of perception. To follow anyone or accept a concept without question, can lead to distortion of facts, which in turn can distort or hide facts and laws of the universe. Just my bullshit answer!!! LOL Thanks for ur inut and clarification.
@LenHazell53 thanks for the corrections. Now if I can figure out how to edit, I can update it!!!
That depends on if the authority is truthful.
gater
Level 7
Oct 19, 2018
1
It is irrelevant whether the authority is truthful or not, always check, never accept unquestioningly anything, it is both the first step on the road to gullibility and the end of critical thinking.
@LenHazell53 It is irrelevant whether the authority is truthful or not - wrong.
@gater So how else do you ascertain the trustworthiness of the authority?
@LenHazell53 If you know truth, its easy to recognize truthfulness.
@gater You are saying there is such a thing as objective / universal truth?
@LenHazell53 exactly!
@gater how can u know truth without verifying?
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