NO FRONTIER SHORTCUT

I have wondered what distinguished the frontiersman from the rest of us.

Was it his brute strength?  Not particularly.  He tended to be strong because of the work that he did, but many others were as strong as he was, or stronger.

Was it his schooling?  No, most left schooling at a very early age.

Was it his resourcefulness?  To an extent, yes.  Venturing forth into previously unexplored, unknown, potentially dangerous, territory, he had to be resourceful and self-reliant if he were to survive.  Where, I wondered, did that resourcefulness come from?

My answer may surprise.  I believe it stemmed from his epistemology, his theory of knowledge. It was simple:  I know only what I can see with my own two eyes. He heard Indians chanting on the other side of the frontier.  Were they friendly Shawnee or warring  Navajo?  Were there 10 on a scouting mission, 50 on patrol, or 100 on an attack mission.  The frontiersman had to know...no guessing, no surmising.  He had to carefully, meticulously, quietly,  reconnoiter, and get the facts.

It is said that the internet has made`available to humans more information than they ever had before.  And that is a good thing.  The problem is:  if we have to wade through all of that information before we can say we know something, it would take enormous energy and time.  Google anything and hundreds and hundreds of sources of information will likely crop up.  Who's got the time?  The strength?  The patience?  We need a shortcut.  Expand "knowledge" to include what we feel to be true, what we want to be true, what we fear to be true.  Joila!  Instant knowledge...or instant error.  The frontiersman could not afford the luxury of that epistemological shortcut. His life and the lives of those on the expedition he was leading were dependent on his knowing the absolute truth.

There is a yoga mantra that in part says "Ek Ong Kar Sat"...meaning "there is one Creator whose name is Truth."  Now I don't know whether the Creator is Truth or Truth is the Creator...but I do know we can, and better,  learn from the frontiersman how to find it.