A hand mirror leans beside a weathered wooden box on a moss-green surface.

Original artwork, not a still

Jules Henri Poincaré

Doubt everything or believe everything: these are two equally convenient strategies. With either we dispense with the need for reflection.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Believing nothing and believing everything both let you off the hook. Either way, you skip the effort of actually thinking. Poincaré's point is that the easy extremes are shortcuts, and real reflection sits somewhere in between.

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