[Woodcarver] Off topic (chat) Yet Topical A little joke?Hmmm!

[reddogg]

Keep this in mind the next time you either hear or are about
to repeat a rumor! 

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was well known
for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an
acquaintance who said excitedly, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about
one of  our students?" 

Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before telling me
anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter
Test." 

"Triple filter?" 

"That's right," Socrates continued "Before you talk to me
about my student, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter
what you're going to say.. The first filter is Truth. Have you made
absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?" 

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and ..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if
it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of
Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary ...." 

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad
about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the
test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness.
Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really." 

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is
neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?". 

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held
in such high esteem. 

It also explains why he never found out that Plato was
"finessing" his wife.


"Reddogg"
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