Illusions of Knowing

The primary differences between a state of darkness
And that of infinity are what I call Illusions of Knowing
Mankind generally believes that if enough evidence supports an idea
Then it is a fact, or an unchangeable truth
However, this belief ignores an important aspect of truth
The paradox of limits

The paradox of limits is the principle that knowing a limit is impossible
As the only evidence for a limit is that nothing has breached it yet
It does not matter how many millions
Or even billions of data points fall within the limit
If even one data point crosses it
The pseudo-barrier is retroactively and forever after dissolved
Many supposed limits have been rectified in this way
Human flight? Impossible
At least before two boys from Ohio built the Wright Flier
The four minute mile was pierced by a young English medical student
Even the moon and the vicissitudes of space could not stay the reach of man

But the paradox of limits applies to more than human behavior alone
Consider every celestial body known to you in the universe other than Earth
After assessing the various terrain, atmospheres, and other qualities
Would you conclude that life is possible on any given planet or star?
Seeing as there is scarcely any water, much less life
Perhaps you would reason that life is simply not possible
Or perhaps you would weigh the minute chance of surface water
On a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone of a star
And conclude that it might be possible for extremely basic life to exist

Now add Earth back into the equation
No matter how you look at it
This one data point shatters every reasonable limit drawn from the rest of the pool
Not only does Earth support life, it is teeming with it, in both quantity and variety
And, who knows
Perhaps another planet exists somewhere in the cosmos
Whose advancements make Earth look like an archaic pile of dust
If this galactic limit can be so convincingly revoked, why not any other?

To conclude, when we think we know something
We think that we are not and cannot be wrong
To believe that we cannot be wrong is to believe in a limited reality
A reality that, by definition, cannot be anything other than what we know

Importantly, I am not claiming there are no limits in reality
There very well may be
But due to the paradox I have offered, these limits will never be known
And we can therefore derive that all knowledge
Is ultimately belief