ABSTRACT

What to believe? Whom to trust? How to decide what to believe and whom to trust? These are not new questions. When they are applied to the birth of societies or the origins of religions, or even to the remnants of seemingly strange tribes, these questions do not jar our contemporary consciousness. But in a technological age, where the secrets of heredity appear within our grasp and space travel is more than science fiction, it does seem strange to hear them asked about ordinary aspects of everyday life.