Prevailing Winds

The Forum asked the question—what is perhaps the most important survival skill in the Human world? Overwhelming evidence of the group as a whole shows them to be distinctly ill-equipped for long term species survival. Below is an article Reiki Clown found while going through editorials printed in early 21st century newspapers. While the author seems to have “hit the nail on the head” to quote an old Earth saying, it appears to be yet another example of a select few enlightened beings attempting turn on burnt out bulbs.

Prevailing Winds

Empathizing with the reader’s younger self brought a smile to my face. An aspiring journalist his confidence in his ability to accurately judge issues had been undermined by the surety with which his Ivy League peers proclaimed their doctrines. Declared with attitudes of such implacable infallibility no questioning of their veracity could be considered. How could these classmates be so entrenched in their beliefs and he so unsure when all drew from the same well of information?
Perhaps entrenched isn’t the proper word but the concept of someone so firmly convinced of the accuracy of their beliefs on a wide range of subjects, a person who portrays themself as the pinnacle of knowledge, not to be swayed no matter the information revealed to them, might perhaps be considered entrenched. To those of indeterminate opinion this surety might seem to resemble intelligence, causing those still seeking the answers and possessing a weaker egoistic foundation to be failing in some way. In my mind this conceptualization begs the question; “as long as the person in question is able to disseminate all acquired information and come to a logical, final conclusion based on all the facts set before them how then is that the lesser, ‘dumber’ individual?”. Those unable to change upon realization that they have been in error, those who are unable or unwilling to bend in their opinions and conclusions, those will ultimately fall by the wayside. The reader himself came to that conclusion after a lifetime of experiences and subsequent disseminations. Those fellow students who had been so self-assured in their late teens and early twenties, so decisive and opinionated, so unable to allow self doubt to nibble at their minds, lacked one of the most important of survival skills. As with anything carried to its extreme self doubt can be harmful but a healthy dose provides the impetus to explore and evaluate situations; allowing for the possibility of positive change. Those pedantic and set in their ways must rail against anything new and spend their lives immobilized by fear.
The writer that got my mind going on this subject mirrored my feelings as a young person. I too often found myself unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion on an issue. The information provided coupled with my lack of experience left me feeling inadequate to properly access many situations. Perhaps the machinations necessary to adequately write a research paper can be compared to forming healthy opinions. Every side of the research topic needs to be examined whether agreed with or not before a realistic conclusion can be reached. Even then should some additional or new information become available-and there must be openness to just such an eventuality-the previous conclusion may need to be thrown to the winds. Indiscriminately flip flopping and pursuing whatever seems plausible at any given moment is not what I am suggesting. Pursuing a careful, complete assessment of a given situation before reaching a well thought out conclusion then allowing for change should the need arise is.
Those who, while forming opinions and life credos are nevertheless able to assimilate new information, change their minds and their habits, learn from their mistakes-- should consider themselves fortunate.