If forty million people say a foolish thing it does not become a wise one, but the wise man is foolish to give them the lie.
-- W. Somerset MaughamToday, again, I realized the truth of this quote. People seem to have this weird tendency to accept something as true merely because “everybody” believes so. Beats me totally.
Say, in a room full of ten people, nine agree and one feels differently -- does that in any way prove that those nine are right? But funnily, as I said, that appears to be the general opinion. And I cringe at the danger of this logic.
Where a number of people hold a false idea, there it is even more essential that the truth come to light, and there it is that one finds it most difficult because of this skewed logic. One who thinks independently and rationally, and dares to defy the majority, is ridiculed, dismissed, and made to shut up – let alone given a fair hearing. Wouldn’t you call him a fool?
posted by Sylvia D'souza at 11:15 pm
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