Letter To The Editor

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Dear Editor,

(From Webster's Collegiate Dictionary)

Notion: no-shen, 1. an individual's conception or impression of something known or experienced, 2. an inclusive general concept, 3. a theory or belief held by a person or group, 4. personal inclination, 5. whim.

Fact: 1. a thing done, 2. feat, 3. an actual experience or occurrence, 4. a piece of information presented as being of objective reality.

Belief: syn. - 1. opinion, 2. a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.

Suppositives? I could not find this word in my dictionary.

Beliefs and opinions are subjective to an individual.

Charles Mackay used the word "notion" to express the lack of objective information (that which could be proven) the great mass of people did not have during the Dark Ages. Serfs were barred from learning to read and write on the point of severe punishment or death. Serfs were also prohibited from mingling between feudal properties. Fears of uprisings guided feudal lords' thinking.

Superstitions, rumors, mis-information, etc., etc. were "coins of the realm" in the serf world. People were ignorant, not stupid. Their everyday life was based on survival by their wits, self-learning, and so on. They could not reality-check their beliefs.

Amazingly, great numbers of people remain ignorant in this age of the internet, thousands of books, and news magazines printed yearly. It truly is a sin.

I have a simple credo: "... change yourself, you change the world ..." Teach yourself, you learn yourself.

Charles C. Hall Chandler, Texas