We are fed with information every moment of our lives, have you ever stopped and wondered whether the information is the right one ?
Let's take an example:
"The American dental association quoted Scientific American research paper suggesting that..."
is a typical line that we come across.
How much of the information we get is 'hearsay' vs 'real'?
This is what I call it as 'Derivative' information versus 'Root' information !
What I mean by root information is - you got this information from the very source that knew where and when it happened - basically a first hand report!
Whereas - Derivative information is - more of an Hearsay - the information has been passed on through multiple 'reflectors' (apart from the 'Sender'! i.e.) and then reached you.
In the example above -
Derivative 1 - The Dental association is giving information to you
Derivative 2 - The Research paper itself
Derivative 3 - The paper would have sought inputs from different books, interviews etc.
Derivative 4 - The books (interviewer) in turn would have got the information from somewhere else!!
4+ Derivatives for a single information thread!
And as with all 'communication', there is a Value addition (Distortion really!) that happens at every level.
How many of us ask the first of the Socratic ("The test of three") question
"Is this the Truth?"
Let's see a few more scenarios:
A Novel, Article, News - All these are opinions, views, quotes offered by different people as they see the world! sometimes these at best are Claims and may not be facts!
A TV ad - say for cooking oil - stating that that particular oil is good for your heart!
A politician - stating that this party has done so much good to a particular region
A 'god man' (I am intentionally using this word) deciphering the spiritual text to a group - Typically quoting from multiple sources which are already derivatives of some earlier known information!
The question to us is - "Do we take the derivative information and work on it?" or "Try to seek the Root?"
Else,
Are we limited by our nature to keep things simple and not worry about too much details?
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Raju_the_Seeker
