I found the concepts of true and false to be quite harmful for rational discourse. People argue about what is true or not all the time without coming to an agreement. So I avoid those terms as much as possible. Usefulness is easier to determine and it is subjective, so there is less urge to argue about it.
Yes, it’s easy to determine that beliefs flattering the king are useful, while beliefs about invisible forces causing the twitching of dead frog legs when struck by a spark are quite useless. But to determine the usefulness of these two beliefs correctly, you need to predict a few centuries ahead. Truth is easier.
I found the concepts of true and false to be quite harmful for rational discourse. People argue about what is true or not all the time without coming to an agreement. So I avoid those terms as much as possible. Usefulness is easier to determine and it is subjective, so there is less urge to argue about it.
Yes, it’s easy to determine that beliefs flattering the king are useful, while beliefs about invisible forces causing the twitching of dead frog legs when struck by a spark are quite useless. But to determine the usefulness of these two beliefs correctly, you need to predict a few centuries ahead. Truth is easier.