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thomblake comments on Five-minute rationality techniques - Less Wrong
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I don't think so. I'm pretty sure most people labor under the impression they have something like a unity of consciousness, so while "don't believe everything you see" might seem obvious, "don't believe everything you think" does not, unless specifically considering situations like hallucinations (which many would categorize under "see" rather than "think").
ETA: That's why this is a cornerstone of rationality. Even I am moved to remember the slogan, so that when I think to say, "That's not true!" I stop and ask myself why I think so and whether I should believe this impulse of mine.
Okay, in that case, I had come up with with a saying to express that same idea but which makes the implications clearer. Here goes:
"Blindness isn't when you see nothing; it's when you see the same thing, regardless of what's in front of you.
"Foolishness isn't when your beliefs are wrong; it's when you believe the same thing, regardless of what you've seen."
I particularly like the first, since the second clause technically includes literal blindness.
I might change "wrong" to "false" when repeating the second.
Thanks! Any help with touching up my version so it flows better is much appreciated.
Yes, I think this is particularly important, because the cognition involved in literal seeing is a form of believing: your brain is making inferences before there's even an image in your mind. (The raw retinal data looks like garbage.)