False knowledge
False knowledge is not fake news; it is much worse. It is embedded in our beliefs as we learned it from a trusted source that we would not, or could not, challenge to prove that knowledge. We accepted that knowledge as being the truth. Consequently, we instinctively reject a, true, fact that is conflicting with our, false, belief. even when presented with easily verifiable proof.
Consider these statements:
Things we believe to be true = knowledge.
Things that are not true = false.
Things that are not true, but we believe to be true = false knowledge.
Why do we believe?
Because someone we trust told us their truth. Much of our false knowledge originated when we were young, we trusted our parents, our teachers, and often our priest or monk. We trusted them implicitly and consequently trusted the knowledge they gave us without question or challenge.
Some of that knowledge was false; either they themselves learned it the same way as we did, or because they are bound to follow doctrine, scriptures, curricula, or culture, even if they may not believe it themselves.
False knowledge is far worse than ignorance because if we don't know something, we are inclined to look for answers, as we want to learn. But if we already "know" about something, our instinctive reaction is to ignore or resist an answer that conflicts with what we think we know.
How to overcome false knowledge:
- Accept that the source is not infallible. This is the hardest condition to overcome when that source is cultural or religious.
- Open yourself to consider a conflicting answer. Allow yourself to consider that alternative answer.
- Apply critical thinking. Objectively compare what supports each of the conflicting "truths", the credibility of their respective sources, and the researched or scientific proofs backing each claim.
It is far more difficult to "unlearn" something we believe in than learning something we don't have past knowledge of.
Fake news is not false knowledge
Fake news and disinformation are "new information" that we are more likely to question or challenge as it is not knowledge we already believe in. Fake news is only effective through repetition and multiplication. Disinformation always existed in history, while fake news is an opportunistic ability made possible by the broad and instantaneous reach of anything on the Internet. There is so much information streaming past us that we tend to take it for granted as being fact without taking the time to check another source, or simply check where this information came from.
Personal beliefs are not knowledge
If you don't eat pork because of your personal beliefs, and you tell someone with different beliefs who does eat pork, "You should not eat pork", you are giving them false knowledge as there is no health reason for not eating pork.
While that may seem to be a minor difference, projecting, or imposing, personal beliefs onto others are the most common causes of conflicts at every level of society from relationships to national policies. Change "eating pork" to "abortion" to grasp the consequences of imposing personal beliefs onto others.
The effects of false knowledge
The funny ones:
- "You should not go swimming after eating"
- "Mice love cheese"
- "MSG is bad for you"
- "Sugar makes kids hyperactive"
- "We use only 10 per cent of our brains"
The ones hurtful to your life:
- "You need to drink eight glasses of water a day"
- Potentially dangerous: Overhydration (Water Intoxication) - "Masturbation causes blindness, or worse"
- Actually recommended for women with period pain, for example.
There Are Major Health Benefits When You Masturbate On Your Period - WomenHealth
The ones crippling people's lives for ever:
- "Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)"
If you think this practice remains only in remote parts of Africa, consider this:
An estimated 230 million girls and women alive today are believed to have been subjected to female genital mutilation, but the number of girls subjected to the practice will likely increase due to global population growth. …
Female genital mutilation is currently documented in 92 countries around the world.
As recent as the 1950s, removal of clitoral glans was practiced in Western Europe and the United States to treat perceived ailments including hysteria, epilepsy, mental disorders, masturbation, nymphomania, and melancholia.