I think people don't like to say they don't know, when in many cases, it is the right reply. What happens after we die? idk How did the universe come into being? idk How did the first life forms come into being? idk Is my religion really the one true religion? idk We stand a chance of knowing the right answer to 2 and 3 but 1 and 4 will probably be debated for a long time to come.
I think from an evolutionary standpoint, the 3 ways of being wrong can be right because they state useful ideas. You go out to pick berries from the bushes. You hear a nearby rustling and tell yourself it's a predator so you run away with your collected berries. Probably just the wind or a cute bunny. You tell others what happened, either to protect them or to scare them from gathering berries from your favorite bush. It's useful for people in general to tell themselves its a predator because if they don't, some percentage will die. It's useful to tell fellow tribe members about the supposed predator since they help you survive in their joint efforts with your tribe. It's useful to not have other tribes snooping around your bountiful berry bush so you lie to them by exaggerating the danger.
Being wrong in your answer to your partner's question, "do I look good in this outfit?" could be useful in preventing an argument or hurt feelings. Might be a useful idea to reply, "I think you look good in almost anything! If this outfit makes you feel good about yourself then I think it's a good choice!"
Other times it might be useful to be wrong is when the authorities come to your door to ask if you are harboring any (fill in the blank). I'm thinking back to WWII. Or if someone is dying (we all are, every day, we just don't like to think about it), or if they lost a loved one, or if they are suffering from some debilitating existential angst, anxiety, or anguish - there are probably wrong things that can be said that are useful ideas to cope with the situation. I think I'd generally rather know the truth than a useful fiction, but there may be some cases where I'd rather be blissfully ignorant or incorrect.
Just a ramble inspired by your awesome post! :) I agree with what you wrote; I just used it as a starting point to write down whatever came to mind in a stream of conscious kind of way.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
I'm happy you wrote all that, because it was all in my head too.
I also intentionally didn't write "The Three Ways."
Just "three ways." There could indeed be more, as well as combinations of any.