How do we as people Know Anything we are told or discover is what it is???

Answer 1

Well, it definitely started out REALLY simple. We didn't know too much,and we still don't.

We know things by three methods.

1. We experience them ourselves, this is really how we personally know anything at all, even if we don't really experience them.

2. We experience them through surrogate experiences like reading or watching TV about discovering some distant moon of Saturn of Jupiter, or travelling to Antarctica.

We know about Antarctia or Alexander the Great or World War 2 remotely becoming aware of them through media, (reading, television, internet etc) or physical remains etc.

3. We perform experiments - This is formal scientific inquiry, and these days is a combination of 1 and 2.

At this point in our history, we've done ALOT of testing, and don't usually discover new things we can "see" as often as in the past, it still happens, just not very often.

These days, most things we are studying are either very small, or very far away or difficult to detect so we can't see or taste or smell them or personally detect any differences at all between a "good" result and a "bad" result.

So if I test a metal to see if it is heat-conductive, I can feel that difference, if I test the difference in heat conductivity between two pieces of metal and temperatures are very close or small in change. I might not be able to immediately "see" a difference, but a thermomitor sensor can.

Answer 2

We trust the greatest minds. People of great intellect, fore sight and wisdom. Also, common sense. There are things you discover that just seem to fit in to the pattern of life.

Astute observation. The most important thing a good biologist can do is observe and record those observations accurately. Some of the greatest findings of humanity have been made by simply observing nature.

Answer 3

Last answer was pretty good, but this is really a philosophical question. How can we be certain that the information we are given is accurate (truthful) if we have not determined it's truthfulness for ourselves? If you're interested, you could try asking a question like this in the philosophy section.

It's always a good idea to consider or question the validity of the knowledge that someone is teaching you.

Jim, http://www.jimpettis.com/wheel/

Answer 4

Hopefully, what we are told is something that someone discovered was. Some people are skeptics and can prove or disprove what they were told. In that case, they can then tell someone else what they they discovered.
(sound like the circle of life, doesn't it?)

Answer 5

1. Know your sources and use trusted sources
2. Get corroboration from multiple sources
3. Try to confirm by personal experience or experiment

Answer 6

We have to have some faith in the trained experts. If we don't then we have study, explore, or somehow find out for ourselves.

Answer 7

What?

I'm a toad, and even I can speak better English than that.
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