To startblindly with a statement is a sign of arrogance and narrow-mindedness, andwill lead to conflict. To start blindly with a question is a sign ofuncertainty and honesty, and will lead to wisdom.
The ear tends to be lazy, craves the familiar and is shocked by the unexpected; the eye, on the other hand, tends to be impatient, craves the novel and is bored by repetition.
Insteadof suppressing conflicts, specific channels could be created to make thisconflict explicit, and specific methods could be set up by which the conflictis resolved.
Conflictis the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. Itinstigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplikepassivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.
