We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience. ~ G. B. Shaw
Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with [how you process] what happens to you. ~ Aldous Huxley Ideology is the unspoken assumptions [sentient beings] that organize your experience of something. ~ Michael Pollan Remember, your brain doesn't care what idea you believe and then perceive. Your healthy brain will instantly convert into your subjective life experience of the moment any idea that you believe. ~ Maxie C. Maultsby, Jr., M.D. Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. ~ Oscar Wilde The Royal Society of London took as its motto Nullius in Verba [Nothing in Words], best translated as "Take nobody's word for it, see for yourself." Granted its charter in 1662 by Charles II, the Royal Society is the oldest and most venerated of English scientific societies. By insisting on exactness, it changed the dominant mode of scientific inquiry from experience to experiment. The Society judged that anecdotes of gentlemen naturalists often were random, frivolous, and even purposely misleading. Instead of transacting their findings in the language of "Wits or Scholars," the Society strove for "clear senses" and a "mathematical plainness." Experience was personal and never precisely repeatable, while experiment signified that some types of experience could not only be confirmed, but also coordinated and systematically added to the stock of knowledge. Measuring instruments, which were largely an outgrowth of clock making, especially helped transform singular experiences into repeatable experiments (Boorstin, 1983) ~ Richard E. Cytowic M.D., The Neurological Side of Neuropsychology, page 18 Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief (theory) from opinion. Zen specifically indicates zazen as the crucible to end suffering. You will be dragged around forever by the sentient beings (beliefs, opinions, attitudes, moods, etc.) in your mind until you release them in zazen. You might think, feel, believe you know but the suffering you experience testifies against you. And Jesus said, "By their fruits [postings, behavior, moods, etc.] you will know them." You will know whether they really know or are just driven by personal ideological experience. pudgala2
