Quote by Orson Scott Card
Hive Queen: They never know anything. They don't have enough years in their little lives to come to an understanding of anything at all. And yet they think they understand. From earliest childhood, they delude themselves into thinking they comprehend the world, while all that's really going on is that they've got some primitive assumptions and prejudices. As they get older they learn a more elevated vocabulary in which to express their mindless pseudo- knowledge and bully other people into accepting their prejudices as if they were truth, but it all amounts to the same thing. Individually, human beings are all dolts.Pequenino: While collectively...Hive Queen: Collectively, they're a collection of dolts. But in all their scurrying around and pretending to be wise, throwing out idiotic half-understood theories about this and that, one or two of them will come up with some idea that is just a little bit closer to the truth than what was already known. And in a sort of fumbling trial and error, about half the time the truth actually rises to the top and becomes accepted by people who still don't understand it, who simply adopt it as a new prejudice to be trusted blindly until the next dolt accidentally comes up with an improvement.
Summary
The quote suggests that individual humans, with their limited lifespan and narrow perspective, often hold superficial understanding and misguided assumptions. They may use sophisticated language to reinforce their flawed beliefs and impose them on others. However, humanity as a whole has the capacity for progress. Despite their collective flaws, humans occasionally stumble upon ideas that are closer to the truth. Through trial and error, these ideas gradually rise to the surface and become accepted, even if they are not entirely comprehended. This ongoing process shapes human knowledge, albeit imperfectly.
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