How to proceed when the 'most fundamental' things cannot be verified?

This is an excellent question because it touches upon a core contradiction in how we think and act. It's like wanting to build a ship for a long voyage, but being unable to be 100% certain if the wood we've chosen is "absolutely reliable." If we insist on waiting for absolute certainty, we might never set sail.

When faced with such a situation, we need to shift our mindset. Instead of agonizing over "proving this fundamental thing," we treat it as a "working assumption."

Then comes the crucial step: Act based on this assumption, make predictions, and then see if the results align with expectations.

This is like a scientific experiment. Scientists assume that "the speed of light in a vacuum is constant," and they can't go to every corner of the universe to verify this. But they can design experiments and build equipment (like GPS) based on this assumption. It turns out that GPS systems, precisely, need to be calibrated according to the "constancy of the speed of light" and relativistic effects to work accurately. This, in turn, greatly strengthens our confidence in that "fundamental assumption." If one day an experimental result contradicts it, scientists would be excited to revise this fundamental assumption, rather than feeling like the world is ending.

Let's take a more everyday example, like starting a business.

An entrepreneur's most fundamental assumption might be, "People need a machine that can automatically feed cats." They can't 100% prove this before investing money. What do they do? They won't spend three years writing a perfect justification report. Instead, they'll first create a rudimentary prototype (MVP) and give it to dozens of cat owners to use.

• If people eagerly use it and are willing to pay, it suggests their assumption is likely correct.
• If people find it superfluous or prefer the interactive feeling of feeding their cats themselves, it indicates their assumption was wrong, and they need to quickly pivot.

You see, they didn't try to prove the "fundamental" thing itself, but rather verified the "results" it led to.

The same applies to personal life. "What kind of life makes me happy?" This is a fundamental question that cannot be "proven" before starting. You can only make a "working assumption" based on your current understanding, for example, "I believe working stably at a large company will make me feel happy and secure."

Then you go and put it into practice, working at a large company. Throughout the process, you continuously ask yourself: "Am I truly happy? Is my assumption correct?" If the answer is yes, then continue. If every day feels like a struggle, it means your initial assumption needs adjustment. Perhaps "freelancing" or "working in a small team" is a more suitable new assumption for you. Then you use small actions to validate this new assumption.

Therefore, when we cannot verify the "most fundamental" things, the best strategy is:

1. Boldly accept it as a "working assumption."
2. Design a minimal-cost action to test what results this assumption will bring.
3. Use the "results" of your actions to inversely check if your assumption is "useful" and "effective."
4. Remain open-minded and be ready to adjust or even overturn your initial assumption based on real-world results.

The core of this approach is not to pursue absolute "truth," but to find an "effective" path that allows for continuous progress and correction in an uncertain world.