Quote:There is only one truth, and it is not a compromise of lies. The pursuit of truth requires one to keep an open mind, and to examine all the evidence.
That statement is a matter of belief as well. Truth is not nor has ever been an objective reality. Truth is subject to the point of view of the observers. Even seemingly inarguable facts are not necessarily truth to everyone. For example, the sky is blue. That fact seems true, unless you're color blind.
Nor is every thing a compromise of lies. Evidence is simply a collection of related information that supports or rejects what you observe. Take Occhi's previous response to Grumpy's. She went through each of his facts and questioned them all. According to Grumpy he has truth, according to Occhi he does not. If there exists real truth, it can only be achieved by seeing the event from all points of view.
When you express your point of view, as Grumpy did with his opinion of Bush, you immediately expose all your evidence as possibly biased. Since, in this case, we know that Grumpy will try to find only condemnation of him, not anything else. Therefore it is much easier to summarily indict each of his facts, as Occhi did in his response.
Now my kudos to Kandrathe, I was perhaps a bit too cliche with my remarks about finding the truth between two extremes. My intent was to say that those who live on the extreme sides of an issue are rarely unbiased. Therefore look to those sitting on the fence, since they are still weighing and measuring the evidence that exists. They are less biased since they don't immediately reject evidence that might disagree with their point of view.
Quote:I think the hallmarks of intelligence and wisdom are to know when to say things like "I don't know", "you were right", and "I'm sorry".
I totally agree, they are also the most difficult of words for people to say. As is the case with most things, the harder they are the more important they are. The three simple phrases above, could save a lot of marriages, ease relations between a boss and employee, improve relations between teens and parents, etc.
Mark
Edit: Sorry Occhi, thanks Pete.
More fun then twins on a sugar high!!