Historical Untruth and the Lies That Follow: A Treatise on Uncertainty
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Historical Untruth and the Lies That Follow: A Treatise on Uncertainty (Vamhiso q'Shin o to Tiqmodi otho Liron: On Mhoriqo q'Vavraqa) is a 150 TT ideological treatise by T'vaqi historian and philosopher Aqorrapata Indon. It is one of the foundations of Wave Thought.
Synopsis
Historical Untruth and the Lies That Follow: A Treatise on Uncertainty outlines the idea that all of reality exists within a finite window of time relative to its observer. This window of perceivable reality can be many weeks wide depending on the quality of the observer's memory. The observer always exists at the far edge of the window. The window cannot extend further than the beginning or end of the observer's life; before birth and after death, a viewer's window shrinks to a width of zero.
Indon uses this "window model" of perceivable reality to illustrate that the concepts of the past and future are constructs. He cites numerous examples of historical misconceptions and failed attempts to predict the future as evidence for this. It is argued that, since historical events exist which nobody alive has experienced, it is simply impossible to tell whether these events truly occurred. Similarly, since no observer's window extends beyond the present moment, the future is in a perpetual state of uncertainty. Indon posits that the sum total of certain human knowledge exists within the Unilateral Window of Time, which extends from the memory of the oldest living person to the present moment. Everything outside of the Unilateral Window of Time is a collection of shared non-memories.
The book ends on a somewhat bleak note, with Indon stating that the imperfections of the human mind are incurable, and that only the present moment is to be trusted in its entirety.
Reception
Historical Untruth and the Lies That Follow: A Treatise on Uncertainty received mixed opinions upon its release. A major criticism of the book points out its generally self-absorbed tone, which makes it difficult for Indon's words to resonate with most readers.
After the Calming, the presence of claimed immortal beings like Modhes Ywl brought new attention to the idea of the Unilateral Window of Time. Many Modhes in T'vaqi believe Modhes Ywl's immortality to be the reason for continued human progress, with his life acting as a permanent anchor point for the Window.