Autocracy of Assumptions

Think of a number and I'll tell you exactly what you'll think.........and no I won't be making crazy long calculations in order to approach a close approximate. So before you go any further think of a number and check the endnotes for the answer............so am I right or am I right? :)




The reason you picked an integer is because you assumed that a number is always a integer whereas a number can be a decimal, fraction or a square root. Besides mathematics i'd like to share an experience. I was sitting inside a class and I wanted to slide the window in order to open it but when I saw that the window had a rubber fixed to the bottom with 2 screws, I didn't even bother to make any attempt of opening it because I assumed that if something is fixed to the bottom with screws then it can't be moved. But after a while another person came in the class and easily opened the window by sliding it. What I found out was that by the looks of it, the screws looked tightly screwed to the bottom but in reality the screws were loose enough for anybody to open the window. All one needed to do was to make an attempt to open it.
Now consider a hypothetical situation. Suppose you hear me listening bollywood songs for couple of seconds in my car. You might assume that since I listen to bollywood songs and write against it ,hence I am a hypocrite. But there can be several other explanations to it e.g I might be in the process of changing the radio channel, my friend is listening to that song and he is not letting me change it or I might think am listening to a Pakistani band.
We all receive alot of information in everyday life and we have to built some assumptions when making decisions. I guess it's all right to assume things without concrete evidence in trivial matters (like above) but it is the big issues in our lives that are supposed to be articulated by concrete logic and evidence along with credible source. We should not let our assumptions meddle in big matters of our lives. The biggest problem with assumptions is that we form these in early stages of our lives and  in later stages we mostly carry the same assumptions but in different contexts aswell.
The whole point is that seeing isn't always believing and every context should be studied differently and separately. It's important to distinguish between facts and assumptions during decision making because we sometimes subconsciously consider them one and the same. The more one assumes, the further he/she is likely to drift away from the truth. It is also advisable that we should put our heads down and start extracting all the assumptions lurking in our minds and challenge the one's that seem dubious cause it is these dubious assumptions that sometimes maintain a prison for our minds.





Endnote
1. The number is integer.
2. Not all assumptions are questionable. One needs to figure out which are and which aren't.



Coming Soon : Revival of the Believer (Inspired by The Belief)