This refers back to My January 2023 observation regarded beliefs, facts, and “black swan” thinking. In light of all the “fact checking” going on right now, today’s observation is an extension of that article.
In 1986, Robert Fulghum released his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, a collection of his random thoughts and views on various things. He followed up with more collections years later. Basically I have modeled my personal Observations after his books.
In his first book, he added an author’s note with his "Storyteller’s Creed" that goes like this:
“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death.”
Oh my! The outpouring of dissent was almost immediate from the scientific and mathematics communities, especially regarding lines one, two, and three: facts vs dreams, knowledge vs imagination. How could there be anything other than measurable data, they argued, history was a representation of the facts and could not be replaced by myths!
Well, let’s look at a personal story before we delve into the concept behind Fulghum’s Creed.
A couple of years before I left the military, the commander of the Tactical Air Command (TAC) was retiring. Robert D. Russ, four-star general, was one of the leaders who inspired me the whole time I was assigned to TAC, especially once I transferred to TAC headquarters where he also was.
I wanted to do something special as a going-away gift, and since I built model aircraft as a hobby, I chose to create a replica of the F-4 Phantom he flew in Vietnam (almost 250 combat missions). The specific plane was tail number XT770, and painted on the nose of that aircraft was his wife’s name, Jeanie (Jean E).
To do my research and ensure the accuracy of the plane’s re-creation, I contacted a friend stationed at Seymour-Johnson AFB NC, where an F-4 was mounted and represented the General’s jet. Once I got the photos, though, it was obvious this replica was a composite of the General’s history, including his time as a commander at Seymour-Johnson. The plane had on it multiple markings, Air Force squadron patches, and other details that, while accurate, did not duplicate the jet I wanted to model.
Now, where I’m going with this is that anyone not knowing about Jeanie might be led to believe this was the actual plane General Russ flew. My real message, though, is I became one of those Fulghum naysayers---this North Carolina plane representation was not factual---and I ignored that the people of Seymour-Johnson were simply trying to tell the story of one of their beloved commanders as they believed it.
Fast forward to 2022: I toured a magnificent cathedral in Cologne, Germany that contains bone relics said to be those of the Magi, the Three Kings who visited the baby Jesus. There is a long history of how those bones got to Cologne and you can read that for yourself separately, but ignoring the story-telling aspect of this Cathedral, how do we really know these are relics of the same guys listed in the Gospel of Matthew?
If DNA testing was still an option after two thousand years, it might reveal the geographic region from which the bones came, and maybe even the possible race and ethnicity of the Kings, but I conclude my pondering with how do we REALLY know the historical truth? I can tell you this, however, never in a thousand years would I try to convince the people of Cologne their shrine was not real.
It's said that history is written by the victors. If you travel out west, you’ll find many historical markers describing battles and fights that took place during the Indian Campaigns. Until recent efforts to say otherwise, most of these accounts were written from the perspective of the US soldiers and not from that of the Natives. In my beloved state of Colorado, the site of the Sand Creek massacre is only a few miles from the town of Chivington, named after the Colonel who led almost 700 troops into the slaughter of about 150 Natives, mostly women, children, and the elderly. The site of that massacre has only come under control of the US Park Service in the last twenty years and the full telling of the atrocities that took place then are still being revealed. And further north in Montana, the Little Big Horn Battlefield still hosts the "Custer National Cemetary" and it was not until 1999 that markers on the battlefield itself were positioned where the natives fell alongside those placed earlier for the fallen cavalry soldiers.
But, on less extreme notes, did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree or throw a silver dollar across the mile-wide Potomac (silver dollars were first minted in 1794, BTW)? Most likely, these myths and more were created to give GW a majestic aura fitting of the man who would become the first president of the US.
Additionally, if you dig up dirt on Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp you might find they had both barely skipped out on arrests and prison a couple of times. Thanks to the OK Corral, however, they positively live on in our memories (unless you are a descendant of the Clantons).
Is a “dolphin” a fish or a mammal? Depends on whether you are referring to the porpoise (mammal) or the Mahi Mahi (fish) regardless of any misguided "fish" referral to the NFL team from Miami. And is a comet a sign from God or an omen, or just a really big piece of rock reflecting sunlight as it speeds through the sky?
Thomas Paine has been quoted as saying “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it the superficial appearance of being right.” Further, Joseph Campbell, co-author of the 1988 book The Power of Myth, states “myths offer life models. But the models have to be appropriate to the time in which you are living, and our time has changed so fast that what was proper fifty years ago is not proper today.”
So, back to the fact checking process that seems to be in vogue today; are we really trying to identify “things that are wrong,” or are we trying to tell a story to get across a specific point or moral? And, honestly, do we even know the difference anymore?
To start wrapping up this observation, I was recently the first on the scene of a vehicle/bike rider collision, and whereas the accident looked really serious, the rider was relatively unhurt and refused my first-aid treatments. The driver and the rider reached a quick monetary agreement on repairs to the bike, and the driver continued onto work. Moments later, three police units and an ambulance showed up because one unknown observer to the event reported it to the 911 dispatcher as a “hit and run.” I stated to the primary officer the circumstances I witnessed confirming it WAS NOT a hit and run, gave him the details of the driver and his van and the statements I heard regarding the repairs to the bike, and relayed to the EMTs the level of injuries I believed the bike rider might have sustained. Point being: multiple people “saw” this event and gave differing reports based on their perspectives of the “FACTS.”
“Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear” is used by a character in one of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories, although other authors have been credited with that phrase. Or, in light of today’s CGI and AI abilities, maybe we should be saying “believe half of what you hear and nothing of what you see.”
You have to choose your facts, and you will likely accept them as truths based on your own foundations of belief, experiences, and personal viewpoints. And because of this reality, we may choose our facts in opposition and we may actually both be right, regardless of which stories we tell or how we tell them.
Best regards to all, and let’s be safe out there.
