24. Whom Do You Believe?

There is a popular story about Nasreddin Hodja, a Sufi claimed to be from Turkey, called “Whom Do You Believe?” In the story, Nasreddin’s neighbor wants to borrow his donkey to transport some goods, but Nasreddin does not want to lend his donkey to the neighbor so he says, "I'm sorry, but I've already lent him to somebody else." The neighbor hears the donkey behind the wall and questions Nasreddin about it, realizing that he lied. Nasreddin replied, "Whom do you believe, the donkey or your Hodja?"

Today we do not need to ask “Whom do you believe?” We judge ideas by their details and how they fit together. We do not need to judge them by the authority behind them. We do not trust the idea because we trust in the source. Each of us can judge ideas on their merit. Through good explanations, we have a real connection to reality. When the boy cries “wolf” we do not need to believe or disbelieve him. We find an explanation. We make some guesses and we question their details. Is it better to check and verify the boy’s claims before the whole village storms out? Maybe. What about if we put someone else in charge of the livestock? Maybe. We do this repeatedly, creating new ideas and refuting them. Thanks to David Deutsch for teaching me this.