A persistent metaphor

The Two Minds

Every mind runs both. One generates possibilities, the other tests them. A culture that exiles either one stops learning: the first becomes credulous, the second becomes sterile.

The Dreamer

Generates possibilities

  • Intuition
  • Emotion
  • Imagination
  • Pattern
  • Symbol
  • Creativity
  • Association
  • Experience

The Investigator

Tests possibilities

  • Measurement
  • Logic
  • Evidence
  • Experiment
  • Probability
  • Verification
  • Criticism
  • Replication

When they cooperate

DISCERNMENT

The Dreamer proposes what might be true. The Investigator finds out. Neither is the enemy of truth — only the pretence that one of them is sufficient alone.

ENTER THE TRUTH ENGINE

The rule that governs this site

Never ridicule mythology, intuition, religion, art, altered states or subjective experience. Ask instead the only question that does any work: what exactly does this experience allow us to conclude?