Things We Are Not Allowed to Believe

I grew up believing that if we had evidence to show something is true, we could then safely say we “believe” in that thing. And if something came along that proved that evidence was not accurate, then we would decide what we originally believed was no longer true and therefore no longer something we believed.

Obvious things to believe were, in a word, obvious. For example, if you stepped in front of a moving bus, there was a decent chance you would be, at best, in the hospital in traction, and at worst, in the ground pushing up daisies. So, we believed in the concept of bodily harm caused by moving vehicles.

We learn a bunch of things similar to this as we grow up and as the song “Things to Remember” goes (from a long-forgotten Broadway musical, Roar of the Greasepaint - the Smell of the Crowd—how many of you remember that one?): “You must never shoot trout in September. You must never feed babies on gin. Don't ever play poker on Sundays. Unless you are certain to win! Ha ha” there are many such things to remember.