Philosophy
The Epistemology of Testimony and the Justification of Belief
Quick fact
Philosophers of testimony have shown that if we required direct personal verification for every belief, we would know almost nothing—the vast majority of our knowledge depends on the word of others.
Why this is interesting
You believe the Earth orbits the Sun, that your friend had cereal for breakfast, and that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet—but you didn't personally verify any of these. How can you be justified in believing them?