Reasoned Judgment

From the Da Vinci Enigma Tarot, the Emperor; from the Insectorum Divinorum, Hemiptera:

Dimmi: What are the boundaries of safety and order in this situation?

          The fantastical elements of this armor were added by Leonardo, whose sitter for this sketch was just an ordinary man. Without this knowledge, how easy it would be to judge him as some pompous ruler with more concern for attire than his kingdom. Hemiptera is an order of insects known as 'true bugs;' they are distinguished by their piercing mouth parts used for sucking sap from plants (but in some cases animals) with nymphs that resemble the adult form. Both these cards point to the danger of making a snap judgment without being aware of factual evidence. Assumptions may seem to protect us; rather than investigate and confirm, we fill in what is unknown based on our preferences and biases. But such misinformation just creates more chaos and insecurity, not safety and order. 

It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.

~Jonathan Swift