Robust knowledge theory, Data isn't divine
Monday Map
Today on Monday Map, I'd like to share something from Moses' encounter with Pharaoh when he returns as a savior.
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Robust theory of knowledge and hedging with virtues
God gave Moses an instruction as a sign that should he need to prove anything to Pharaoh, he just had to throw his rod to the ground and it would become a serpent.
Of course Moses does that. Successfully. Until...plot twist.
Pharaoh, being I assume, amused by what Moses saw as amazing, ordered his magicians to replicate Moses feat. Successfully, they did.
Considering that Moses grew up in the palace, I wouldn't know if he was surprised. But I was sure surprised because I wanted Moses to go unmatched. I was disappointed.
But it gets better. And I think this is where the true miracle was. Moses' rod-serpent began swallowing up the magician's rod-serpent. That was indeed unexpected. And like I said, it was the true miracle. This then brings me to the robust theory of knowledge.
Assuming Moses was ignorant of the magician's ability to turn their rods to serpents, we can say then that Moses was blindsided. He I am sure, would have felt like a joke - like a performer who just became the butt of the joke for his audience. He would have thought like "if I knew this was how it was going to be, I would have attempted something else." But all these would have taken place just before his own serpent goes swallowing.
My robust theory of knowledge implies that because we cannot learn everything, and are in effect limited to be privy of every fact of life, as well as ignorant of the perspective of others, then you must build systems that allow for shocks, surprises, uncertainties, and are not crashed by blindsiding.
Because our identities are often built around the things we know and are certain about, we often react with great shock and sometimes crippling devastation when uncertainty is introduced. To this end then, we need a way to be shock resistant when building our identities around certain knowledge.
To be robust is to have the ability to not be shaken by unexpected events and/or quickly recover from them unscathed. Sometimes and In some forms, this is also called resilience.
Can you know everything? No. But can you afford to know everything before launching out? No as well. So what do you do? Simple: hedge your knowledge with good virtues - virtues such as courage, humility, and wisdom.
With these three qualities, you don't have to know everything in the world. You just need to know how to handle shocking situations and not be scathed.
Why Data Isn't Divine
"Rather than blindly put our faith in technology, we all—especially policymakers—must become more tech- and data-savvy. We must be crystal clear on the logical limits of data. Data from different domains have radically different properties and animating logics. More and bigger data may worsen the needle-to-hay ratio. In many patterns pertaining to human behavior, the data capture only a limited piece of reality."
Read this wholesome article here
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Thanks for reading,
Have a curious week.