Rules, Truth and Pluto

Posted on April 8, 2010 | 1 comment

Like many kids, “Why?” was one of my favorite questions growing up.  But unlike many kids, I kept asking “Why?” long after my peers had outgrown it. In particular, I don’t react well when someone tells me about something that “just is”.  The idea of Rules and Truth (both with capital letters) having some sort of Permanence (again with a capital) just rubs me the wrong way.  It’s not that I reject them out-of-hand, it’s just that I want to ask LOTS of questions before I believe something fundamental (like Rules and Truth) simply because someone told me so.

I remember getting into heated discussions with teachers (especially Science teachers) over the years as they would tell me about “the Laws” (physics, math, etc).  I would counter with “They’re not Laws, they’re Theories”.  I would also say things like: “Science isn’t an exact science.” And then at some point, I would mention that once upon a time, there were “teachers” who taught students that the earth was flat.  And that was a Law.  And the earth was the centre of the universe. And that was a Law. And medical science used leeches and drilled holes in heads to let demons out.  (Aren’t you glad you weren’t one of my teachers?)

Photo by Royalty-Free image

Now…I have a quick science question for you… “How many planets are there?”  Well, I was taught that there are nine planets.  I remember memorizing their names in Grade 4 or 5. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.  Well, that’s just not true any more.

Pluto was officially “discovered” and added to the list in 1930 after decades of speculation about its existence.  For 76 years, scientists and teachers and learned people everywhere told us that there were nine planets.  That takes us to 2006.  Perhaps you didn’t hear, but on September 13, 2006, Pluto was deemed to no longer be a planet. (Read all about it here. )

Poor Pluto.

I bring all of this up, to simply point out that NOTHING in life is permanent.  Things change all of the time. The only Universal Constants that matter are the ones that matter to YOU.  There is no such thing as “The Truth™”.  It’s a cliché, but one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.  Both labels are “true” – it just depends where you’re standing.

If you plan to live your life according to a Truth (or a set of Truths) you need to keep some things in mind:

1. Your Truth will never be everyone’s Truth.  Make sure that you are comfortable with the Truth you’ve chosen because people will challenge you on it.
2. Everyone’s Truth will never be your Truth.  You can spend your life trying to conquer and convert everyone or you can spend your time living your own life.
3. Truths change all the time.  If you ever find that your Truth or someone else’s Truth has begun to shift… before you jump to judgement, pause for a moment, look up at the sky and remember Pluto.