What is the most interesting or perception changing thing you have ever learned?

Question: What is the most interesting or perception changing thing you have ever learned!?

I cant think of one as I am sure many of you wont be able to just think of one!.!.!.!.!. I found it interesting when I learned that some animals have a set number of heart beats then they die - I thought that was interesting!.!.!.!. Another thing was learning that things arent black and white there is almost always a grey area and learning to try be comfortable with that!. That was perception changing!.!.!.!.!. how about you!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I'd say it was two different things!. The first one was the importance in questioning not just what we know, but HOW & WHY we know it!. This is what separates knowledge from beliefs, and is a crucial part of the scientific method!.

For instance, when I read your question I immediately thought, "How do you know some animals only have a set number of heartbeats!? How was this determined!? How can we possibly know in advance, given the countless different ways an animal could die!?" In other words, I question the veracity of that statement!. It seems lacking in proof and also should be quite easy to disprove!.

But enough of that!. My second big perception-changer was when I came into contact with the transhumanist movement, which along with evolutionary theory pretty much threw out the whole notion that humans are the end-all and be-all of creation, the highest forms of life possible!. We humans have been getting less and less primitive over time; ergo, in the (distant) future we should be an even greater species than we are now, and would look back on modern-day man the same way modern humans look back at Neanderthals!. A lot of the transhumanist movement is concerned with trying to imagine (realistically) what such a posthuman species would be like ("more intelligent" doesn't do it justice), and perhaps more importantly, how we might go about getting there significantly faster than through eons of natural evolution!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Its the most interesting because it s the thing I learned last so I have some mileage with it to see where it takes me!.

I learned about 'giving out' to lost causes!. By giving out - I mean the process by which you for instance make something which it isnt but what you want it to be - by projecting a part of yourself on to it - like we do with favourite bands at gigs!.
Another example is that I had a favourite purse and loved it so much I constantly gave out to it so was blinded to the fact that it had lost everything about itself that made me love it- I kept in my minds eye how it was when it was all pristine - then one day I saw it how it was - falling apart - not fit for purpose - losing coins - the scales fell from my eyes!.

So my learning was that some things like challenging how people deal with mental health are a cause I gave out to that are overwhelming & already lost!. Psychologically burnt out - I need to do a few doable things before going back into the fray and giving out to the impossible!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Wow, I didn't know about the heartbeat thing!. That really IS interesting!

For me, I think it is that events in themselves are really neutral (not good or bad)!. It is we humans that put those labels on them!. If something happens we don't like, we tend to label it "bad" and this results in our feeling bad about it!. I now try to stop myself and remember that there is no logical reason to necessarily consider an event that happens to me as "bad!." When I reframe it and say, "No, this event could just as easily be good!.!.!." then I am able to see how indeed it could be a good thing, and then I don't feel as much pain from it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

This is not meant to express disregard for any particular way of life or perception!. The most perception changing thing I have ever realized is that even when faced with insurmountable proofs, some people (even some "very learned" people) that are entrenched in their personal beliefs, will disregard facts or proofs that contradict their stance(s) and hold to what is obviously wrong!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

When I was 19 I had my astrological chart done!. I was very skeptical, and I felt no stranger could possibly understand me!. Was I ever wrong!.

This astrologer knew my inner self more than my parents, boyfriend, best friend (I did try to hide my self a lot, figuring if they really knew how I was inside, they wouldn't like me)!. It was a turning point in my life!. I studied it further and understood the cycles of life, the motives of others (and you can't even imagine how cool this to have socially---others are just so drawn to you when you know astrology!), and best of all, who I was and why I'm here!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

well, thats a start, every thing that has a heart has a set number of heart beats that determines when that being expires!.

the event that changed my life was that someone i knew expired, when i shook there lifeless body, the eyes opened and they did not speak to me, they were grey, the blue fades to grey and speaks no more, funny death, it treats all the same!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Perhaps it was Nieztche!? - the idea of the Chair and reality!. How do you know the chair is real!? What makes it real!?

This idea introduced existentialism to me and I haven't grappled with it enough yet!. But it did change my perception on a whole range of ideas about reality!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

A moose can graze under water!. It closes its nostrils!.

Papa & Mama Crocodiles/Alligators are gentle and protective of their young!.

Poodles get their hair styled in that fashion, they are not born that way!.

Never overestimate my own intellect or underestimate the intellect of others!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I was brought up to respect authority and to think politicians were there for the good of the people!. The more I know about them and what decisions they make I no longer believe they are but cannot understand why not!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Birds are incontinent -- they have no control over when and where they poop!. I always think about that when my car looks like it's been bombed, or when a flock of birds are flying overhead!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Gandhi had quoted that it takes greater strength to forgive than to punish!.!.!.!. my very perception of manliness changed with this quote!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

all the concepts are nothing to do, to provide happinessWww@QuestionHome@Com

that!.!.!. "Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well!." (Josh Billings)Www@QuestionHome@Com

that there is no purpose to life whatsoeverWww@QuestionHome@Com