words per minute
3
typog
00:00
Speed
Without realizing it, I was taught to believe in many things. However, throughout my life, I have tried to understand the truth behind the things I was taught to believe. For example, I was taught that the human body is made up of cells. Teachers generally teach students so that they can understand the knowledge being presented to them. When a student understands what they are taught, they may accept it as true and continue to believe it for a very long time, at least until they encounter new information that changes their understanding.
One factor that can change a person's belief is the emergence of a prominent expert who has conducted extensive, reliable, and well-verified research. If the teacher or the person who originally taught them has less knowledge or experience in the relevant field, an expert may challenge the information or theory that was previously taught. If the expert's explanation is supported by convincing evidence and appears logical to the person, that person may reconsider and eventually change a belief that was previously taught to them.
Therefore, I believe that when someone's belief about something differs from another person's belief, it does not mean that one person is a black grain of rice among white grains of rice. Both are still grains of rice, but they have different characteristics and experiences. In the same way, people can have different beliefs while still having the same fundamental status as human beings.
For example, imagine that one person believes the Moon is flat because, from their perspective, photographs can make the Moon appear flat. Meanwhile, another person believes that the Moon is spherical because they have seen photographs showing its shape and know that the Moon is a natural satellite of Earth, while natural satellites are generally spherical because of gravity. These two people are both human beings, but they may possess different knowledge and experiences that lead them to different conclusions.
This leads me to believe that a person's knowledge and understanding strongly influence what they genuinely believe to be true. I am referring here to a person's internal belief, rather than merely what they say or claim to believe. For example, someone might say that cows on Earth are generally blue because they are being forced to say it, but that does not necessarily mean that they genuinely believe it in their mind. If they already know that cows are generally not blue, they may continue to believe that cows are not blue despite saying otherwise. In other words, a person can make a statement that contradicts their actual belief, but the statement itself does not necessarily change what they believe internally.
I think this happens because human beings naturally tend to believe that something is true when it appears reasonable or logical based on the knowledge, information, and experiences available to them. This does not mean that everything a person believes is objectively true. A person can sincerely believe something that is false if the information available to them leads them to consider it reasonable. Therefore, a person's belief can be understood as the conclusion their mind accepts based on what they currently know and how they interpret that information.
Returning to the analogy of two grains of rice with different colors, both are still grains of rice. Humans can be understood in a similar way. A difference in belief does not make one person less human or inherently inferior to another. Instead, their different beliefs may reflect differences in knowledge, experience, information, or interpretation. This also means that someone's belief can potentially be changed by explaining information and evidence that they did not previously know. In my opinion, it is not a good practice to insult or look down on people simply because they have different beliefs or knowledge. Rather than attacking someone for being wrong, it is more constructive to explain what we know and provide the reasoning or evidence behind it.
Therefore, I believe that belief is closely related to knowledge. If two people have different beliefs, they are still both people who possess different knowledge, experiences, and ways of interpreting information, and both deserve to be treated fairly. Neither person is inherently worth less than the other simply because their beliefs are different. What may differ between them is their knowledge and intellectual ability, although these are not necessarily the same thing.
This raises another question: is knowledge related to intelligence? Since intelligence is a broad concept and can be understood in different ways, the meaning of being "intelligent" can be relative depending on what ability is being discussed. In my opinion, a person's intellectual abilities can develop as they gain knowledge, learn from experience, and practice thinking and problem-solving. In this sense, someone who initially has less knowledge or weaker skills in a particular area can become more capable through learning and effort.
I have heard that intelligence is partly influenced by genetics. However, I believe that a person's knowledge and intellectual development can somehow contribute to the development of better genetic traits for future generations. In my view, when people continuously improve their knowledge, intelligence, and abilities, these improvements may eventually contribute to a better genetic starting point for their descendants. Therefore, I believe that the effort to become more intelligent is not only beneficial for the individual but may also help future generations begin with better genetic potential. In this sense, I see learning and self-improvement as factors that can work together with genetics and potentially contribute to the intellectual development of future generations.