h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What you say about Belief can equally apply to short-term memory... People are naturaly lazy, this is true, but when you say that they weigh every new situation up against their own belief system first, generally all that means is that they can't be bothered thinking a particular argument through from first principles every time, and rely on their memory of the first/most recent time they did so.

For example, someone who has previously hated a number of Jim Carrey movies may refuse to see another one on the strength of their belief that his movies are crap. This is a belief system formed of personal experience, and attempting to reform it by leading them through a long argument from first principles would be prolonged, boring and almost inevetably fruitless. (Although they may consider it more entertaining than actually watching a Jim Carrey movie )

You're failing to differentiate between belief in your own memories and belief in some outside force of which you have no first-hand experience. I "believe" the latter to be a better example of belief!

Actually I think the point you are trying to make is that there is a difference between believing in something and having an opinion about it. While I agree that it often becomes exhausting to work out everything from first principles on a continual basis, it is also sometimes necessary to question one's own assumptions, and getting into the habit of doing so is a key element in having an open mind. See my article on critical rationalism which discusses the various methods by which people arrive at the conclusions they do. I don't even hold up my own memories of personal experiences as always being relevant to a discussion of what is true, or meaningful, as I find that such action inevitably creates all sorts of problems.

Pretty good for seasoning sauces too.

Or is that bayleaf?

Ho hum.