The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1891-06-13
WHAT WE KNOW.
Very Little in Comparison with
What We Do Not Know.
Many Things in the Realms of Sense and
Sentiment with Which We Err
roneousiy Think We Are
Familiar.

In aiming to isolate and pick up, to
handle and examine a few Of the
Things We Do Not Know" the first
step is to identify few Of the things
we think we know, but don't; next. a
few of the things we think we don't
know, but do.-for that is the same as
not knowing them; and, finally to point
out some of those we know we don't
know. and which we sure enough DON'T
writes an iconoclast in the New York
Evening Sun.
For example, among the last are a
c1lild's mind. wolnan's meaning. a
mans purpose, the verdict Of a jury:
the operation Of medicines, the speech
of cats, ethics of dogs, and SO on: all OF
which we know to exist, and that we
know nothing further about them.
Some folks suppose they know things
learned at school; as, for example, that
parallel straight lines in a plane are two
chat never meet: but this isn't true. Ii
the lines are parallel they do rreet--at
infinity. Others hug the delusion that
a straight line does not change its di-
rection, however prolonged, The; fact
lis, of course, that straight line is part
of a circumference of infinite radius.
Among things we think we don't
know. but which we do know all the
time, the first is: What we will our
selves do in situation we have once
experienced We shall, in fact, do Just
what we did before IF our conduct on
that occasion turned out i'll many
people think they will do something
else, and that they don't know what,
This is delusion. They will do the
same Old thing. Otherwise man would
learn by experience, which is against
nature.
Another thing d man thinks he doesn't
know is shat fellow-creatrre who
cheats a third for his sake Will cheat
him for the fe1low-creatIlre's OWN sake.
Yet this is a truth that governs human
relations as geravitation rules the mate
rial universe. 1t is q menstruu1n in
which the relations of men and women
find a universal solvent.
Many persons believe they know that
iron is a substance which cannot change
into different substances. More error.
Iron maintains it's Identity at the
temperature OF terrestrial labora-
tories, 1t splits up into other
substances under the SUNS heat.
Most folks think they have q mental
image Of what the moons surface is
ike, but they haven't, They have such
an image Of that half Of its surface
which man sees, but none Of the other
half, which man has never seen.
There are people who believe they
know what their own inside is like,
though tllcy have never seen cadaver
or hog in the cutting up.
There are even sthool-teachers who
think they know that Eng ish verse scans
in the number Of it's syllaloles, prospect.
i've Of the time required to utter them.
So there are writer's OF such verse who
miscouceive ontc1y to be poetry ii II is
1nctrically articulate.
More people think they know that the
know that what it really does Is to
swing the stern.
Most people know, when speaking OF
s4u clccta,ic fluid Or current, shat. while
electrical phenomena are developed sue
cessiveiy IA time and space, nothing ex-
lists corresponding to any OF our other
ccnceptioyis for which the words fluid
and current stand. More than this,
very few persons have formed amy kind
OF provisional hypothesis, even, for re-
ducing 10 any sort Of concrete image the
si1nu.acrul1n Of a concept that waivers
behind the Use Of the wore electricity.
A,nonr other things we think we
know, butt don't, may be enumerated:
Pointers on the stock exchange, the
figures oG visible supply Of staples and
the real responsibility OF parties rated
at one million dollars or upward by the
commercial agencies.
4 popular delusion is that the liar
can be made. who is not born so. The
liars gift is, in fact, one Of the rarest;
it's highest expression consists in the
insight that discerns it's opportunity to
Aell the truth with the certainty Of be-
ing disbelieved.
More men believe they can play draw
than there are white blackbirCs, yet the
man who can play draw is the rarer
beast.
Folks talk Of steam; to most Of them
visible vapor is the thing this word
stands for; many think they believe
shat the cloud they see issuing from a
steam waste pipe is the agency that,
still d visible cloud, moves the steam
engine. Few, perhaps, really believe
this, for the mental impressions of most
OF such people on such subjects are too
vague and y1n1neaning to be rightly
called beliefs. But there is a consider
able number Of people vino know bet
ter than to confound live steam in its
working state with visible vapor; most
of these perhaps have read or have
heard of an hypothesis by which par
ticles in the gaseous condition are con-
ceived to fly about, bombarding the
sides Of vessels in which the gases may
tpe contained coming into collision with
one another. How many stop to reflect
that this fanciful presentation of the
subject is put forward purely in pro-
visional way, awaiting the progress Of
Investigations essentially mathematical,
and that it sustains, to sane concep-