The truth is indeed in the hands of a few, how to define?

GCIOSGF Newsletter 會訊：

Merry Reading Time,

Host: WP 

Edit: OF

Discussing "Who holds the truth?"

 

1,the story of the woman of the highest IQ in the world

This woman holds the highest recorded IQ ever: an astonishing 228. Far surpassing Einstein (160-190), Hawking (160), and Musk (155). Yet, despite her brilliance, she faced ridicule for her response to a seemingly simple problem.

But she saw what no one else could.

Here’s her story:

Marilyn Vos Savant was far from an ordinary child.

By the age of 10, she had:

• Memorized entire books

• Read all 24 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica

• Achieved the highest recorded IQ of 228

She seemed destined for a life of genius.

But reality took a different turn.

“No one paid much attention to me—mostly because I was a girl. And I accepted that,” Marilyn Vos Savant once said.

She attended a regular public school, left Washington University after two years to help run her parents' business, and seemed destined for an ordinary life.

But in 1985, everything changed.

The Guinness Book of World Records listed her as having the "Highest IQ" ever recorded: 228.

Suddenly, Marilyn was thrust into the spotlight:

• Featured on the covers of New York Magazine and Parade Magazine

• Guest on Late Night with David Letterman

But she couldn’t have anticipated what lay ahead.

The Rise and the Question

Marilyn joined Parade Magazine to write the iconic "Ask Marilyn" column—a dream for someone with a passion for writing.

Yet, this dream turned into a nightmare with a single question in September 1990.

The Monty Hall Problem

Named after Monty Hall, the host of Let’s Make a Deal, the question went like this:

You’re on a game show.

There are 3 doors.

• 1 door hides a car.

• The other 2 hide goats.

You choose a door. The host opens another door, revealing a goat.

Should you switch doors?

Marilyn’s answer: “Yes, you should switch.”

The backlash was overwhelming. She received over 10,000 letters, including nearly 1,000 from PhDs, insisting she was wrong:

• “You are the goat!”

• “You blew it, and you blew it big!”

• “Maybe women look at math problems differently than men.”

But was she wrong?

The Math Behind the Answer

Consider the two possible scenarios:

You pick the car (1/3 chance):

• If you switch, you lose.

You pick a goat (2/3 chance):

• Monty reveals the other goat.

• If you switch, you win.

Switching gives you a 2/3 chance of winning.

Eventually, her answer was proven correct.

Vindication

MIT ran computer simulations confirming her logic.

MythBusters tested it and reached the same conclusion.

Some academics even apologized.

So why did so many fail to see the truth?

The Reasons People Got It Wrong

• They "reset" the scenario instead of recognizing the shifting probabilities.

• The simplicity of 3 doors obscured the underlying math.

• Many assumed each remaining door had a 50% chance.

Marilyn’s View

Marilyn blamed the compulsory schooling system for discouraging independent thinking. She argued that it:

• Creates passive learners

• Stifles exploration

• Hinders critical thinking

A Blessing and a Burden

Marilyn admits that her intellect often feels isolating—there’s no one to turn to when she needs answers.

Still, she sees her intelligence as a gift, not a curse.

2, 其它觀點：

真理往往在少數人手中是一句名言，應該也是一句老生常談的真理，因為柏拉圖就說過類似的話：真理可能在少數人手上。 這兩句話裡都有副詞往往和可能，而不是直接地說真理在少數人手裡，因而這個說法是對的。但引用這句話的人一定是在需要引用的時候引用的，其真實的意思卻往往是把原話裡的往往或可能的語法意義去掉，強調了真理就是在少數人手裡，這就不對了。 那麼真理從理論上和事實上有沒有可能真在少數人手中呢？其實這裡的真理有兩個意思，一是理論上的真理，比如看不見的手、引力定律、相對論等這些帶有普遍性、本質性、規律性的真理性的學說，不但可能而且必然在少數人手裡，因為一般人的認識不可能這麼專業；二是事實性的真理，也就是對一般的現實和狀況的觀點正確，這就兩說。這樣的真理有可能在少數人手裡，更大的可能在多數手中。這樣的真理往往不只一個，立足點和眼界不同，觀點就不一樣，但結果有可能是一樣的。條條大路通羅馬。 雖然如此，事實性的真理往往還是到了少數人手中，一是確實有少數人的認識能力超強，深刻周全，二是少數人影響大，多數人不會獨立思考，三是少數人掌握了權力，權力取代真理，如封建帝王的金口獨斷，四是多數人的觀點往往沒有驗證的機會，沒有機會和少數人的觀點作正誤對比，只剩下少數人的觀點獨擅勝場，即使出現偏頗，也是正確的偏頗。 在事實性真理方面還是多數人的觀點正確，上萬年的人類文明史的道路發展到現在即使出現過意大利、德國、日本的法西斯毒瘤也很快糾正了過來，絕大多數國家和地區不論先進或落後基本上都還在同一個發展道路上，並沒有成功的獨闢蹊徑。這說明多數人的選擇是正確的。 在各種關於事實性的事物投票方面都是多數為勝，少數服從多數。 近年來還出現過一些翻案事件，例如給商紂王、秦始皇、曹操、隋煬帝翻案，其實對他們的定案都是絕大多數人的觀點，而且經過上千年的歷史沉澱，定錯案的可能性極小，不適合用真理往往在少數人手中的觀點。 真理往往在少數人手裡這句話的實際操作是有副作用的，那就是它有利於少數人養成獨斷專行剛愎自用的習性，使本來具有一定真理性的說法蒙上了更多荒謬的陰影。

然而，某些正確的說法有的確在少數人手中，比如宗教，科技等。

您的看法呢？