Kalama Sutta
Do not believe anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers. But after observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
Buddha provided this advice thousands of years ago, yet it is still applicable.
Believing is blind and constitutes a false sense based on the belief. The old adage that if it sounds too good to be true applies; often a belief is merely a wish for something to be true.
Engineering ethics dictates that as professionals we conduct sufficient observation and unbiased analysis prior to forming opinions. Engineers should review the Buddha’s advice as a calibration before speaking, writing, or taking action.
