One day, a researcher asked an old man what spontaneously came to mind with the concepts of intelligence, reason, perception, utility, reality, illusion, belief, education and logic.
The old boy lent forward on his chest and muttered: “You can harp on for hours, trying to persuade people that they are absolutely not on a small, peaceful and motionless strip of land, but that at this very moment they are hurtling towards the sun at a truly dizzying speed; you can teach them at school, make them learn it by heart, you can even convince them that’s how things are, but it will not stop them from firmly believing that at this precise moment the sun is calmly rising over this small strip of peaceful and motionless land.’
So much for the concepts of intelligence, reason, perception, utility, reality, illusion, belief, education and logic.
Translation: Jackie Dobble
