See, it used to be that its counterpart could also be heard just as much (and though the unpopularity of it is quite in its heyday in these very recent times, it can still be heard today) - "Because Bible".
Either way, it's a means of blindly assuming/proclaiming something as fact, by virtue of the stated trump-card reference source, which is also used to back up the vicarious credibility of the proclaimer, as well as the proposed "fact".
Below, in this video, at about the 0:16 point in the video time line, you'll notice a not-so-extreme example of what I mean. The unwarranted smugness is there, to be sure, but between 1:48 and 1:58, the person double-talks around herself without realizing it (the force of gravity due to weight/the "pull" upon them = different ways to say the same thing) - what's more, her data is incorrect - the force exerted on each object *is* different (but the inertia is as well, effectually balancing out the descent between them). She also claims to have done fairly well in physics, so she "knows" ("because science!") objects fall at a constant speed... but they don't - they accelerate - at 32.174 ft/s2, to be precise.
And from 2:09-2:13, her smugly stated words just make her seem even more vacuous.
*Just after that*, however, the video cuts to the Asian woman and the Hindu gentleman, and the latter of the two says something quite insightful in his honesty - which says actually deep things, both about what we instinctively know, and about what we are taught (or perhaps, the faulty *way* in which we may be being taught) - and he wisely does not simply latch onto one and blindly discard the other... no, he acknowledges both realities in his mind, allowing his Self to ponder both.
This is a rather smart thing to do, and something so few of us have any tendency to do... which can in part be blamed on how certain institutions/traditions are geared (intentionally or not) to squash that out in learners.
The difference between the before-mentioned smug one, and the insightful latter one, is this; one is a "know-it-all" (or well, technically, a *read-it-all* - a receptacle of "data", but not necessarily any *wisdom*), and the other is a thinker.
Let me add just a little more on my parenthetic input above...
See, there's really no such thing as a "know-it-all"... what that type of person actually is, is a "read-it-all"... and such a person really isn't very much at all beyond what that implies.
Unfortunately, the read-it-all types actually believe they KNOW-it-all... at least, all that they feel they are expert in. But being able to parrot "facts" or data, does not a learned one make.
Too often, it seems a lazy habit of Mankind to lean on something thoughtlessly - "Because *book/school-of-thought* says so".
This *way* too often results in FALSE KNOWLEDGE.
Watch that video again - it's about misconceptions. It can show the ease at which we can lose our footing on the path, while reinforcing such intellectual derailment by heaping blind faith in the idea that "science" is "supremely infallible" - when actually, it is ever-changing as it progresses.
It's the investment in such blind faith that we are on such an "infallible" path, which feeds our false sense of justification to invest more faith into it, blind or otherwise. It becomes a vicious cycle of self-reinforcing, compounded ignorance.
Figuratively speaking overall, we need to not only read, but to study and investigate... only then can what we each personally possess be considered truly "knowledge" - otherwise, it is merely hearsay, and we become merely parroting read-it-alls. Our intellectual worth becomes emptier.
For example, people might spout off about the old and very famous experiment with the large ball and the smaller ball dropped off of the leaning tower of Pisa - both masses hit the ground at the same time... but by only observing the effect and not investigating the cause, they misconceive it as being proof that the force of gravity is equal on all masses no matter the size/weight... and that's clearly not so. But now, due to said misconception, far too many people will *vehemently swear* that gravity acts equally on all masses, "BECAUSE SCIENCE" - and that, my friends, is how "factual" bullshit is born - and that kind of bullshit lives forever. And it stinks. Badly.
Here's another brilliant example of how, when science is misunderstood, and the mechanics of it misconceived, screw-balley faux pas can easily proliferate...
So we can see here, clearly, how easily the figurative "book of science law" can be misread, misconstrued, misunderstood, misconceived, or even misremembered - and the resultant false knowledge can be disconcerting... and in some cases in today's world, even spectacularly idiotic.
"Because Science"/"Because Bible" - false knowledge can be arrived at in the same way with both books - one of science, and one of spirituality.
Do be careful.
This is why reading from a book is, while not bad, certainly not enough. Get your hands dirty. Experiment. Personally. Take notes on your personal experiments. Don't just read about the whys and hows, figure them out for yourself. Don't just search for the answers, quest through the problems, journey along the solutions and arrive at the answers.
Don't be a read-it-all - be a pioneer.
It's like the difference between a scientist and a science teacher. A science teacher is not a scientist. (There are instances of a person actually being both, but such is outside the scope of the point of this post.) A science teacher doesn't even really teach science per se... but rather facilitates the teachings of others, like a go-between, between real scientists and you.
This isn't to say that science teachers, or any teachers, can not be miracle workers in their own rights, no... what they do is influence and inspire, and through their arts and passion to make us love to learn, they awaken the brilliance within us - and bless them very much for it.
But the point is, a science teacher is not a scientist per se. So when a teacher happens to (hey, it happens) miss-teach a piece of data, or allows you to misunderstand, you might have the tendency to take them on blind faith that they know better than you and/or all your peers... even perhaps a scientist - when all your teacher did was pass on curriculum from a book, and somewhere along the line, between there and nesting itself in your mind, the data became faulty.
The point is not to take any data and simply store it in mind as canon and be done with it. Take it in, think it through, test out the properties. Weigh it. Bounce it off a few walls. Take it out for a few walks. Kick its tires. Run it around. Own it - but earn the ownership. Do the work to earn it. As the guy in the videos says, "Feel it in your spleen". Make it real. Real-ize it.
In Jediism, we need to see that life isn't a quiz to ace on paper - it's a lesson to live and learn, to earn and real-ize. A Jedi (or anyone) should never be an armchair expert in anything - but rather a hands-on pioneer in everything.
Alright, I think I need to stop for a while and get some sleep now.
May The Force Be With You!
- Tarran ^_^
