Image from The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
In one scene of Enter the Matrix, Trinity asks Ghost if he really believes that Neo will fulfill the prophesy of him ending between the war between the humans and the machines.
“Do you believe that Neo is going to end the war?”
“Yes. I do.”
“So do I. But I can’t explain how or why.”
“Kierkegaard reminds us that belief has nothing to do with how or why. Belief is beyond reason. I believe because it is absurd.”
“You think it’s crazy to believe it?”
“To believe what? That a single man can defeat an entire race of machines, and end a war that has endured for over a hundred years? Of course! It’s complete lunacy. And that’s why we must believe it will happen. Faith by its very nature must transcend logic.”
I believe in global warming. I believe that it exists, that it’s caused by humans, and that it’s a big problem. You might think that I’m crazy to believe something like that with absolutely no evidence. It’s not like I’ve been measuring air and ocean temperatures, or analyzing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
Oh sure, there are supposedly some scientists who say the evidence is out there, but I’ve never seen it personally. I haven’t even met anyone who’s seen it. And in spite of that, I still choose to believe it.
Maybe global warming is too much of a stretch for you. Maybe you’d like to believe in something a little more certain, like gravity. But that’s a coward’s belief. You don’t believe in gravity, you know in gravity. If there’s no chance of being wrong, it’s not a belief, it’s a certainty.
A belief has to require a leap of faith in order to mean anything. And yes, that means you might be wrong. So put yourself out there and take a chance of being wrong. Don’t just sit on the sidelines playing it safe.
Image from The Matrix (1999)
In general, which is the greater mistake: believing something that turns out to be false, or not believing something that turns out to be true? People like to think that nothing is wrong with the second one, but aren’t they equally bad?
You can’t refrain from having an opinion, wait until incontrovertible proof arrives one day, and then decide to believe it and think you’re so smart for being sure not to be wrong. If you weren’t willing to go out on a limb one way or the other, you were wrong by default. We’re all going to be wrong a lot of the time no matter what, so you might as well hold beliefs that work for you.
I believe that I’ll ultimately make more money from this blog if I only promote products I like and present them fairly. Is that a sure thing? No, not at all. In fact, you kind of have to ignore logic a bit to believe it. But I think this belief serves me.
You can believe that people are fundamentally good, or that they’re fundamentally bad. You can believe in God, or believe in no God. You can believe that this is the worst time in human history, or that this is the best time in human history. Any reasonable belief will be true enough to defend, but you have to always ask if your beliefs serve you, because some can be detrimental.
Don’t be afraid to have beliefs beyond reason. Most of us believe a few things that we’ll admit don’t even make sense. And when you’re laughing at someone who won’t buy a house because the street number is 13, they’re laughing at you for not opening umbrellas indoors.
But it’s all about what works for you. If a belief feels right to you and leads you in the right direction, go for it, even though you might be wrong. That’s OK, and that’s why they’re called beliefs and not certainties.
But you know what? Even so-called certainties can be wrong. I’ve met lots of people who believed there was no such thing as a one-sided piece of paper, until I made them a Möbius strip.
Photo by David Benbennick
“Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?”
Hunter, I think your writing style is very good and I look forward to reading your posts.
I am sure you will make money from blog.
Andy
Hi Hunter –
“You can’t refrain from having an opinion, wait until incontrovertible proof arrives one day, and then decide to believe it and think you’re so smart for being sure not to be wrong. If you weren’t willing to go out on a limb one way or the other, you were wrong by default.”
Awesome! See, this is the thing that drives me NUTS(er) about certain politicians. Voting “present” isn’t a stance! Sticking your finger into the wind doesn’t result in a viable conclusion! Whether I agree with them or not, I more respect those who believe strongly, articulate those beliefs in plain-speak, and stand for them.
I am so sick of evasion and equivocation on so many things that deserve and have straight answers. If they would just grow a pair and risk being wrong! Even when they’re called out on being wrong, they still won’t commit. I guess it is pretty ballsy to ask for our votes in the face of such behavior, but still.
Thank you for a provocative post.
Betsy´s last blog post..LOOK OUT!
I think some people (I’m not one of them) would argue that you have it backwards: it is we who serve belief.
Michael Martine – Remarkablogger´s last blog post..The Recession Post
They say you are what you believe. I heard a great story once about Michael Jordan. He was famous for dunking from the foul line in the Nike commercials. As he got older, a reporter asked him if he could still make that dunk. He said ‘Of course, if I needed too.’
The reporter asked if he had tried it recently. He said he had not needed to. The reporter then asked how he knew he could still do it. Michael answered ‘B/c I did it the last time I needed too, and if I need to do it again, I just believe I can. i don’t have to prove it to anyone.’
I don’t think there was a more dominant athlete in my life time, at least until Tiger is done golfing.
PJ_Normz´s last blog post..How to Open More Doors in Life
While I was reading, I was wondering if you will mention beliefs beyond reasoning. I’m glad you did.
I think there is intuitive knowing that can go beyond rational knowing, and belief that stems from the intuitive knowing is strong even without proofs.
Good example is my Akashic Record Reading. Why do you believe what I had to tell you about your past lives? Because they resonate within you, and you know so, right?
I takes courage to trust your intuitive knowing and the beliefs that come with it. You are making such beautiful progress!
Akemi – Yes to Me´s last blog post..Inside Out Approach To Entrepreneurship, Part 4, Learn Marketing
I have met people who seem to be terrified to “believe” in anything but it had never occurred to me that it might be because they feared they might be “wrong”.
TALK ABOUT A FEAR OF COMMITMENT!
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that one of those people is still single as the big 5-0 approaches!
Thanks for making me think!
Kathy @ Virtual Impax´s last blog post..The Name of the Game is Trust
Hunter,
I liked reading this post because it helped me to clarify my thinking. I get rather intuitive feelings about many things and ideas and I quite often follow up with research. There are two candidates in this election, and on my turf, that I get such a powerful negative feeling about and when I finished my research it was because of their foundational beliefs:
One believes HE is the only one who is RIGHT – and he does not believe in public transportation, public schools, global warming, women can make decisions about their own bodies including birth control is just wrong. His commercials and ads are all about how bright and wealthy he is and how awful the other candidate is and he may well win the election, because he is masking his true – life long held beliefs – my gut feeling is that this man is a danger to all of us.
Candidate number 2 spent all his formative years in a church/religious group that has believed that every Arab on the planet/ Every Muslim on the earth’s surface should be machine gunned to death and removed from the planet permanently – not just emigrate to another planet – be dead and gone. He let others attack his opponent’s religion for him, but he feels he deserves this job and is entitled to it. I don’t believe this man is going to win. He value programed with very dangerous beliefs and he is scary – very scary and people are not looking at this stuff.
Beliefs are important to us all in so many ways…
Great post – thank you
Patricia´s last blog post..Factoid Friday: ANTS or Automatic Negative Thinking
It’s easy to believe in things that have already been proven, but knowing how to choose the right belief to hold, even when there is little or no evidence of its truth, that takes vision and courage.
Marelisa´s last blog post..18 Ways to be Uber Creative
@ Andy, thanks for reading, and for your vote of confidence!
@ Betsy, unfortunately, politicians get elected by staying on the fence and thereby not saying anything that someone might disagree with. But at least they have that excuse. We don’t!
@ Michael, good point, and that can certainly be dangerous. Beliefs should give us power, not take it away.
@ PJ, that’s a great story about Michael Jordan. Thanks for sharing it!
@ Akemi, absolutely–that’s a great example of belief beyond reason. Beliefs have to resonate with you, and it takes courage to trust them.
@ Kathy, that’s interesting. I’ve never thought about it that way–fear of commitment, but generalized beyond just relationships.
@ Patricia, that’s interesting too. You had a gut feeling that you investigated and backed up with research. And it all came back to their beliefs in the end.
@ Marelisa, absolutely. You can play it safe and be late to the party, or you can have the vision and courage to take a risk.
I’m curious why you titled this article, “Why beliefs should be beyond reason,” and not “Why beliefs are beyond reason.”
Be active in your assertion and people will join your cause.
Ari Herzog´s last blog post..How to Twirt (or Twitter Flirt) Skillfully
You know, either way I can’t judge b/c everyone has a process… and every process is different.
VeRonda´s last blog post..High-Paid Help!
This post comes at the perfect time for me. For the past four years I’ve been struggling with belief and reason and how they coincide or if they do at all. I love your openness and willingness to be wrong. I’m still on this journey to find truth and though I’m slightly bitter and still trying to get past a lot of things I’ve experienced, I truly want to believe something and believe it passionately.
“In general, which is the greater mistake: believing something that turns out to be false, or not believing something that turns out to be true?”
This reminds me of Pascal’s Wager (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager), which relates more to God and the belief in Christianity.
Thanks for the insightful post!
Kenny from Memory Strategy´s last blog post..5 Self Improvement Tips From Dexter Morgan
@ Ari, well, a lot of beliefs are within reason, and while I’m in favor of unreasonable beliefs, I’m not against reasonable beliefs. At least for now.
@ VeRonda, I guess that’s the whole “judge not, lest ye be judged” thing.
@ Kenny, I hadn’t heard of Pascal’s Wager before, but I checked it out. I didn’t read the whole thing, but it seems a little weird to me. Believing in God only as a gambling strategy…does that count as faith from God’s perspective? And do you have to believe in all religions to maximize the chance of having a winning ticket? It’s interesting though.
I’ve always tried to live out one concept as regularly as possible:
“It’s better to try something and fail than to not try at all and never know what could have been.”
The “could have been” will be a potential story that haunts you for a long time. Trying and failing is a lesson to learn by and build upon next time.
NunoXEI´s last blog post..Twitter Updates for 2008-10-24
@ NunoXEI, I completely agree.
I think you capture the essence of belief so well. My favorite is that “it’s all about what works for you.” I suppose we can go out on a limb and try some beliefs out. My wife is always say, “make a decision and try it on for a few days as if that’s what you’ve decided.” It’s kind of like a test drive. Also, great comparison you make with the movie. It sets up what you’re giving and conveying extremely well.
B. Wilde´s last blog post..Life, as Luke Lives It
@ B. Wilde, I think it’s a great idea to test drive beliefs. Since it’s all about what works for you, in a way it’s no different from finding a car you like. Test one, and if you don’t like it then try something else.
Actually, Enter the Matrix isn’t a movie. It’s a video game that covers some events that occurred between the second and third Matrix movies. Pretty deep for a video game, huh?
And then there is Animatrix which also continues the lore between the moviews. This is why the whole project as a whole ais so absolutely otherworldly to me and sits as one of the best entertainment experiences of my life thus far.
Many can disagree with me of course, but for ME, the movie opened up much thought about life and “faith”. Strip it of all it’s sci-fi/hero’s journey archetypal constructions and what you have is a catalyst for introspection and contemplation.
Or maybe I’m just alone and crazy on this believe. Neo was only one as well though
.
I’m a nerd.
NunoXEI´s last blog post..Twitter Updates for 2008-10-28
@ NunoXEI, I saw the Animatrix and was disappointed, but that might be because someone had built it up so much and it just wasn’t what I expected. I did like some parts a lot, but we were all looking at each other wondering “What is this?” But now when I read the Wikipedia entry, it sounds good, so I think I want to see it again!
I agree that the Matrix experience as a whole is one of the best things on this planet. That’s why you’ll notice it in my gravatar. (If someone is reading this in the future and my gravatar has changed, it is currently Homer and Bart Simpson doing the thing Neo and Smith did in the train station, leaping towards each other and shooting in slow motion.)