Can we really trust “1+1=2” ?

What is even the truth?

We know (believe) that 1+1=2, but there is no way to prove it.

Okay, let’s say you have 1 apple in your right hand and 1 apple in your left hand. Does that really make 2 apples? What if one of them were pseudo-apple? How can you really distinguish 2 apples?

It is only science that teaches us the fact that an apple is an apple. Science is a human invention. (It is very unlikely that dogs recognize the notion of science.) And humans make mistakes, well, we invent facts called mistakes.

So how much can we be sure that science itself is NOT a mistake, that 1+1=2 is true?

It could be that, there is no 1+1=2, but just an agreement to invent a fact that 1+1=2 among humans and no one has (fortunately) ever raised their eyebrows to this agreement.

Thinking that science, Internet, agriculture, capitalism… basically everything is relying on this agreement of 1+1=2, what if one day somebody proves that 1+1=2 is wrong? (I know it sounds surreal, but the idea of Internet would have sounded more surreal in middle ages.) The whole truth that we constructed on it would just collapse.

There might be no such thing as truth, but just an agreement.

Moral of the story ; you’d better agree to 1+1=2 for the peace of your mind and, for the sake of humanity.