What Else Might Be True?

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”

Stephen Hawking

The other day, after a round of golf, a few of us went into the pub for lunch. Two people at a nearby table began talking about a story they had both seen in the news. It did not take long before curiosity gave way to certainty, and certainty gave way to frustration. Neither of them seemed unreasonable. They were simply reacting to the feeling that they needed to defend their view the moment it was spoken.

Watching this unfold reminded me how often that same instinct shows up in all of us. In a noisy world, certainty can feel like safety. Outrage can feel like clarity. But most of the time, they only make it harder to see what is actually true.

One small practice I have been trying to use is to pause when I feel myself leaning toward a quick reaction and ask a simple question:

What else might be true here?

That question creates a little space. It reminds me that I rarely see the full picture, that first impressions can be misleading, and that humility is often the beginning of understanding.

If we hope to strengthen the quality of our public life, perhaps the work begins with simple habits like this. A moment of patience. A question born of curiosity rather than judgment. A willingness to admit that we do not always have the full story.

These are small acts, but they shape the character of our conversations and, over time, the character of our communities.