On the first assumption:

Throughout life we make decisions based on asssumptions we may not even be aware we have subscribed to. One such assumption we make on a daily basis with little to no thought is that the world will continue to rotate at a predictable speed through space allowing us to predict precisely when the sun will once again rise. We are assuming here that the laws of physics that have repeatedly demonstrated their reliability will continue to present themselves in a continued fashion as they always have.

This is one of hundreds if not thousands of assumptions we make daily, as we should. Our minds connect these assumptions automatically to allow us to move “freely about the cabin” as it were. The vast majority of assumptions we make are harmless and perhaps even necessary in order to the make it through the day. But certainly some assumptions are worth consciously addressing and re-evaluating. Otherwise we risk over identifying with ideas and subsequently mistake those ideas as essential aspects of our identity and become jaded and rigid to the point of feeling personally attacked when confronted with a different point of view.

A question worth posing, in my opinion, is what assumptions are you making about the world you find yourself in, and are those asssumptions worth holding fast to?