Does the need to explain stem from insecurity ? That is a question I find myself asking. As I grow older I do feel more of a need to explain. But then an explanation sounds more like a justification for my choices and I do not feel a need to justify anything. That isn't to say I don't feel I haven't made mistakes in life, just that I haven't caused irreparable damage to anyone. Yes some of my choices have effected others, and not always for the better, I am aware of that. I do feel that all my exchanges have been " quid pro pro. " What was taken, was given freely. Nothing has been coerced. I have limited powers of persuasion and certainly hold no power over anyone.
Many years ago I was told the more you know the less you think you know. I believe that is an accurate statement for most of us. As we get older we are less convinced that we have all the answers. Perhaps that is why this need to explain grows within me. It could be the need to " prove " the answers I did provide. Now I never did take algebra in school. Well the truth is I took about two weeks of it or something like that. Mrs. McMahon (sp) was the teacher. I recall her putting a problem on the chalk board, yes I'm that old, we still had a chalk board, and we had to solve for x. I provided the answer. It was then that Mrs. McMahon told me to prove it. My reply was, is the answer correct ? She informed me that it was indeed right but I needed to prove it. Well in my thinking the proof was before her, I had the answer. To make a long story short, I left that class and went down the hall. I took business math after that, you know, math for dummies. I learned to balance a checkbook, figure compound interest and that sort of thing. But you know, I have yet to have anyone ask me if I took algebra or faced an algebraic dilemma ! I have provided whatever answers were requested of me and never once had to prove a thing. The bank let me know when my checkbook didn't balance, but I already knew it and was hoping they wouldn't notice. That's another story altogether.
Is that what I am feeling ? A need to " prove " the answers ? No, I don't think that is it. I think I just feel it necessary to instruct others. Is that presumptuous of me ? That is what I thought when that teacher asked me to prove it. She was being presumptuous. She figured I didn't know how to get the answer. I was a bit offended, I had provided the answer, it was correct and she admitted that. So then what " proof " was necessary ? The proof she was seeking was that I arrived at that answer in the prescribed fashion, in the method she was teaching. I had to follow the rules. I do recall her providing the class with a list of axioms. We were to memorize those axioms. To the best of knowledge I hadn't used any of those axioms ( rules ) to arrive at the answer. That didn't make the answer any less valid. That was my argument. I haven't always followed the rules in life either. I don't think all my answers have been wrong and so now I try to explain. The difficulty lies in finding the " axioms " in life. Those axioms are the basis of our philosophy. They are what leads us to the answer. The axioms are not the proof however, only the path.
We are fond of saying that each of us walk a different path. There is much truth in that statement. I do believe that all of us should follow certain set rules, axioms if you will. These attributes have been known to man since the beginning of time. They have been written about, taught and impressed upon us all. They are the basic precepts to living within a society. The fact is the steps are the same, it is only in the order those steps are performed that change the result. Works that way in math and it works that way in life. In more recent times I see a whole lot of folks skipping right over certain steps. I see others trying to rewrite the rule book. What I'm seeing is a whole lot of second guessing and a lack of confidence. Arrogance is being confused with confidence. Each of those things perform a function separate and distinct from the other. You can't interchange them anymore than you can change a mathematical function and expect to arrive at the same result. It just won't work.
Einstein and a few other brilliant men have attempted to define life through mathematics. They present those equations that cover the chalk board or now I guess the white board. They are attempting to " prove " whatever their belief is by following a path of axioms. If this is this, than that has to be that. That is the proof ! Problem is, life doesn't work that way in my experience. The futility of life is that it ends. That is why we believe there will be life after death. Just how can we solve this problem ? I do believe an old axiom found in the Bible, " Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."
It could be as I get older, closer to the final harvest so to speak, I need to review what I have sown. What can I expect ? Like a child facing punishment, I need to explain. When will I know if I provided the correct answer ? The answer lies in belief and requires no proof. That is what I feel anyway.
Many years ago I was told the more you know the less you think you know. I believe that is an accurate statement for most of us. As we get older we are less convinced that we have all the answers. Perhaps that is why this need to explain grows within me. It could be the need to " prove " the answers I did provide. Now I never did take algebra in school. Well the truth is I took about two weeks of it or something like that. Mrs. McMahon (sp) was the teacher. I recall her putting a problem on the chalk board, yes I'm that old, we still had a chalk board, and we had to solve for x. I provided the answer. It was then that Mrs. McMahon told me to prove it. My reply was, is the answer correct ? She informed me that it was indeed right but I needed to prove it. Well in my thinking the proof was before her, I had the answer. To make a long story short, I left that class and went down the hall. I took business math after that, you know, math for dummies. I learned to balance a checkbook, figure compound interest and that sort of thing. But you know, I have yet to have anyone ask me if I took algebra or faced an algebraic dilemma ! I have provided whatever answers were requested of me and never once had to prove a thing. The bank let me know when my checkbook didn't balance, but I already knew it and was hoping they wouldn't notice. That's another story altogether.
Is that what I am feeling ? A need to " prove " the answers ? No, I don't think that is it. I think I just feel it necessary to instruct others. Is that presumptuous of me ? That is what I thought when that teacher asked me to prove it. She was being presumptuous. She figured I didn't know how to get the answer. I was a bit offended, I had provided the answer, it was correct and she admitted that. So then what " proof " was necessary ? The proof she was seeking was that I arrived at that answer in the prescribed fashion, in the method she was teaching. I had to follow the rules. I do recall her providing the class with a list of axioms. We were to memorize those axioms. To the best of knowledge I hadn't used any of those axioms ( rules ) to arrive at the answer. That didn't make the answer any less valid. That was my argument. I haven't always followed the rules in life either. I don't think all my answers have been wrong and so now I try to explain. The difficulty lies in finding the " axioms " in life. Those axioms are the basis of our philosophy. They are what leads us to the answer. The axioms are not the proof however, only the path.
We are fond of saying that each of us walk a different path. There is much truth in that statement. I do believe that all of us should follow certain set rules, axioms if you will. These attributes have been known to man since the beginning of time. They have been written about, taught and impressed upon us all. They are the basic precepts to living within a society. The fact is the steps are the same, it is only in the order those steps are performed that change the result. Works that way in math and it works that way in life. In more recent times I see a whole lot of folks skipping right over certain steps. I see others trying to rewrite the rule book. What I'm seeing is a whole lot of second guessing and a lack of confidence. Arrogance is being confused with confidence. Each of those things perform a function separate and distinct from the other. You can't interchange them anymore than you can change a mathematical function and expect to arrive at the same result. It just won't work.
Einstein and a few other brilliant men have attempted to define life through mathematics. They present those equations that cover the chalk board or now I guess the white board. They are attempting to " prove " whatever their belief is by following a path of axioms. If this is this, than that has to be that. That is the proof ! Problem is, life doesn't work that way in my experience. The futility of life is that it ends. That is why we believe there will be life after death. Just how can we solve this problem ? I do believe an old axiom found in the Bible, " Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap."
It could be as I get older, closer to the final harvest so to speak, I need to review what I have sown. What can I expect ? Like a child facing punishment, I need to explain. When will I know if I provided the correct answer ? The answer lies in belief and requires no proof. That is what I feel anyway.
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