The Devils Lake world., 1921-12-21

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Quite likely we have high opinion
of our clear mental vision and moral
excellence We are not aware that
our opinions and beliefs are antiquat-
ed relics wholly unsuited to HeW and;
changing conditions. This knowledge,
did we have Il, would mortffy us.
Most men are we'll -intentioned. Few
would be deliberately .unjust. But
personal interests slyly determine the.
nature and succession of.our thoughts
Even IL the evidence comes our way
We are likely to refuse to sse it. The;
incident Of Galileo and his telescope
is true psychology. Galileo, as the
story runs, had just discoverai the.
satellites Of Jupiter with his new tele-
scope. And he was so excited that he
called all the wise men together to
see the wonderful sight. But these
gentlemen, like some wise men Of
to-day, were not interested in being
mntally disturbed. They disapprov-,
ed Of the foolish practice Of reflection
and understanding because it was
hurtful to their business. They had
no use for theories Of idealists that
might lead to unpleasant consequence
.es by forcing a change Of opinions.
"No," they said, tive will not look
through your telescope for two rea-
sons: firstly, because Jupiter has no
satellites, and, secondly, because if we
look the devil will make us see them"
We smile at the childish thought
and complacently reply that Calico
lived q long time ago. "Such thing
could not happen today" But this is
only mental smoke screen raised as
: a defense against our detection Of our
mental sloth. One Of the defects in
thinking is the assumption that be-
cause there has been progress, there
fore we are progressive. But history
refutes this. What usually happens
is that some one breaks away from
traditional, accepted beliefs, is con-
demned as a visionary radical, and
dies in poverty, an outcast from 'tin-
telligent" and respectable" society.
Another age reprints his books, and
people read them in grateful memory
Of him to whom their fathers refused
fellowship and, a hearing.
"The capacity Of the human mind
for resisting the introduction Of use
full information" some one has OBJ
served, Cannot be overestimated." !"
The explanation is that change of be-
liefs causes real mental pain. It is
easy to advance in knowledge SO long
as we can build ON to the old ideas
without disturbing the substructure.
And this is the reason why men be-
lieve that they are progressive. But
reconstruction Of basal beliefs re-
quires reorganization of cerebral pro-
cesses, and the nervous machinery,
like all mechanisms, runs more
smoothly when friction has been re-
duced by repeating the same activity.
Repetition in the: nervous system,
therefore, is accompanied by the men
tai peace that characterizes habits.
It is the line Of least resistance. Con-
sequently, acts of thought which man
likes to call logical are constantly
Translated into the old, customary as
,sociations of ideas. In this way no
violence is done to beliefs which
through long service feel as comfort
able as old shoes, and for the same
reason. They have become adapted
to. our individual peculiarities. They
fit.
This is not complimentary to the
human mind. It is not a pleasant
picture. But the important question
is, is it true? And history, as we'll
as contemporary events, prove the
almost insurmountable difficulty of
breaking away from the thoughts and
beliefs which we have unconsciously
adopted because we have always been
immersed in in them.
THE COMING OF CHRISTMAS
4 Christnnas is a,drawinp near