Does everything have to be empirically proven to exist?
We’ve forgotten so much ancient knowledge in the last hundred years by insisting on scientific evidence.
We refute anecdotal evidence as hoo-haa and wiffle-waffle until we subject it to rigorous empirical enquiry.
If the woo-woo stands up to the numbers, we rebrand it as groundbreaking innovation.
This is wisdom like, drinking water and eating vegetables prevents us from getting sick.
Or understanding that burning stuff is bad for the environment.
Or the knowledge that practicing meditation helps us to be more present and focused.
Even science admits that the most certain we can ever be about anything is, “very highly probable.” And we’ll almost certainly be wrong about it in three hundred years.
When it comes to living a long and healthy, satisfying life, the best advice must surely come from a hundred thousand years of experience:
The anecdotal evidence.
The old wives’ tales and the cliches.
The stories that stick around.
Wisdom loves a story and doesn’t care much for facts.