Question Your Context

Psychologists/philosophers often say it is impossible (or nearly so) to actually understand yourself and the environment/context that you are in, just because of the fact that you're *in* it (citation needed), nevermind actually question it. I don't believe this to be true. The short proof is the following: (some) humans can understand/process/analyze symbolic models/abstractions of nearly anything. Nearly any physical/cultural phenomenon can be represented in some sort of model or abstraction. Thus by following the two steps of creating an abstract representation, and then analyzing that abstraction, our potential for understanding ourselves, our surroundings/context, and even the universe, is nearly limitless.

That being said, it does seem rare that people actually question and critically analyze the context that they themselves are in.

Thus it is useful to document interesting instances of individuals questioning their context.

Self Questioning

We are often unaware of our own ignorance. In fact, this has been scientifically documented as the Dunning Kruger effect. In short: "people who have little knowledge think that they know more than others who have much more knowledge." One could conclude from this that anytime you think you have a lot more knowledge about an area than others, you may be falling victim to this effect, and should consider questioning your estimation of your knowledge, perhaps by following scientific methods of doubt and inquiry. Should you find yourself to have overestimated your knowledge, you can pursue the cure which is to be trained to substantially improve your own skill level. Reading books can help with such training.

Cultural Questioning

• Sorry You Sneezed by Sean Bonner - a questioning of traditional American/English cultural responses to sneezing.
• "A Brief History of Disbelief" is a TV show I saw on the evening of 2007-07-11, on KTEH. See bhod for more.

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