Realities

The term epistemology is used as a general label for "the science of knowing things or finding things out." But we must first acknowledge that the vast majority of what we know hasn't been "scientifically produced" at all. Much of what we know we have accepted from other sources with a modicum of supporting evidence to verify that knowledge as fact. In a general sense, all acquired knowledge can be broadly grouped into two realities:

Experiential Reality -- That which we learn through direct experience or using scientific methods.

Agreement Reality -- Knowledge taken from secondary sources. These secondary sources are either based in:
1. tradition, or
2. authority

Experiential Reality

Without doubt the most effective learning experiences are those one obtains first hand. Knowledge is absorbed more quickly and retained longer when an individual "learns by doing." Competency, therefore, is achieved through repeated and continual exposure and practice. For example, children will best learn how to hit a baseball by repeatedly swinging at a ball pitched their way. The child can certainly glean useful information by reading about the art of hitting a baseball or by watching professional baseball players bat, but mastery comes only from physically practicing the act of batting.

Agreement Reality

But as you can imagine, one would have to be learning-and-doing on an almost continuous basis for their knowledge base to be primarily experience-based. So we must rely, by default, on agreement reality. Many of our first learning experiences are authority based, coming from our parents. And as we mature, we certainly gain much valuable knowledge through our direct experiences, but we are still primarily educated from outside sources. It is impossible, of course, to classify either type of knowledge as inherently "good" or "bad," in fact, much of what we learn, regardless of source, has a positive impact on our lives. But as you probably know, secondary information has the potential to be erroneous. We all heard the saying "consider the source," but in most instances we fail to do so and simply file tidbits of information in our brains with little concern as to its veracity.

Such is the case with "tradition" and "authority." Agreement reality based on tradition incorporates ideas like customs, norms and values, mores, etc. It is knowledge that we have because it has "always been that way." Authority is information told to you by someone deemed to be knowledgeable about the particular subject at hand. This is the point at which erroneous information tends to blend with valid information. While we obtain a great deal of information from these authorities, this is also where stereotypes, misinterpretations, and just plain falsehoods appear as well. If someone believes a piece of information to be "true," even if it isn't, it becomes ingrained in one's behavior. Take for example the concept fear of crime. Some people, especially the elderly, have been "informed" through the media or acquaintances that they are prime targets for violent crime. Because of this, they are fearful of being outside their homes alone, and thus don't go outside as much as others. This in turn can lead to neighborhood decay along with a host of other problems, and all because someone believed something erroneous from what they thought was an authority source.