Maurice Potvin

2017-06-28 04:45:04 -0400

Glen Craig, you are absolutely correct. I wish you weren’t, but you are. I’m someone whose intellectual curiosity is driven by the pursuit of objective truth. I like to think that I’m objective in that pursuit, but as much as I hate to admit it, I’m not. When my preconceived notion of what is true comes up against irrefutable evidence that contradicts my belief, I am drawn kicking and screaming into the reality that my beliefs are wrong. It takes a good long while for me to come around. I’ll try every which way I can to prove my case…. even long after I know in my heart I’ve lost the argument. That’s particularly true of many historical figures that I hold up as my personal heroes. Over time, it becomes difficult to separate fact from legend. Often the legend is not only more fun, but more inspirational than the facts. And as for their warts, I really don’t want to know about them. And as for your last point, I guess that comes down to the difference between intellectual assent to the truth of something without any emotional attachment to that truth, and the courage to put that truth into practice without being distracted by the fear of all the possible “what ifs”. Myself personally, I’m scared to death of heights. There’s no damn way I’m walking that beam if it’s 60 feet in the air.

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