The book “Thinkertoys” by Michael Michalko mentions a story on page 7 about a group of scientists who visited a tribe in New Guinea who believed that the world ended at a river nearby.
When one of the scientists had to leave, he crossed the river and waved to the tribesmen as he got to the other side. The tribesmen didn’t respond. When the other scientists asked why they hadn’t responded, they said that they hadn’t seen anyone across the river.
Their belief about the end of the world was so strong that it actually blinded them.
Do you think this happens just to people disconnected from the modern world? Well, I think this happens to all of us all the time. We simply can’t see what we don’t expect to see.
