#Truth is a myth and the curious case of planet Vulcan.

All understanding is based on assumption and #faith.

Yes, even the hardest of hard sciences. Believe it or not, scientists would likely be the first to nod in agreement.

In 1860 a new planet was discovered, closer to the sun than Mercury. It was named Vulcan. The curious part is astronomers never saw this planet through a telescope.

Instead, based on Newtonian physics and the trajectory of Mercury, they knew another unseen planet must be there.

Mercury's orbit didn't track how it was supposed to, and the only explanation was that another planet's gravity was pulling it into this altered orbit.

Scientists at the time were very confident because they had discovered Neptune a few years earlier using Newton's Law of gravity.

This had been an incredible discovery and undeniable proof of The Law of Gravity because they didn't see Neptune either.

It was mathematically calculated based on Uranus's orbit.

The reason you've probably never heard of planet Vulcan is that 59 years after its discovery, we found out it never existed.

No, it wasn't a rug pull or a half-baked attempt at glory. The scientific community accepted Vulcan's existence as Truth.

In 1919, Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity. A new way of understanding gravitational pull that accurately predicted Mercury's strange orbit.

Almost overnight, planet Vulcan disappeared, and a new Truth was created. Created because, at the end of the day, we must create truth from assumption and faith that what we know, understand, and observe is accurate.

Countless throughout history, almost overnight, what we thought was capital T True, changed based on new knowledge, understanding, or observations.

Be careful what truths you hold onto in life because failing to assimilate new truths into your belief system is dangerous.

A great reminder I learned from one of my favorite thinkers, @shawntwing- "Subjective utility is more important than objective truth."

Truth is a myth and the curious case of planet Vulcan.

#Truth is a myth and the curious case of planet Vulcan. All understanding is based on ass

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