\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Three of the hardest words to say \u2013 except maybe for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kull<\/a> Many of us \u2013 probably most of us \u2013 seem to approach admitting ignorance with the same enthusiasm we approach a root canal. It is as though we are afraid to confess that we don\u2019t know something, as though it were a moral deficiency or a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n This attitude is puzzling, since in this vast Universe, we know at most a handful of facts, while what we don\u2019t know is infinite. Part of the problem is that not knowing makes us feel vulnerable. We seem to prefer an incorrect certainty to doubt. The more an issue challenges our certainties, the greater our hostility towards it. So we cling to our beliefs and refuse to let facts confuse us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps doing this offers us some comfort. The comfort comes at a high price. The cost of not admitting ignorance is preventing us from learning about new things. I think that the greatest obstacle to learning is the mistaken belief that you already know the subject \u2013 and that in most cases, this belief is mistaken. It seems to me that we would be better off taking the words of Socrates to heart \u2013 that we know nothing. It\u2019s not far from the truth. If we assume this, we open ourselves to the possibility of learning new things. If we cling to the notion that we already know, we are likely to miss many opportunities to learn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d Three of the hardest words to say \u2013 except maybe for: Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kullpneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosisLlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Many of us \u2013 probably most of us \u2013 seem to approach admitting ignorance with the same enthusiasm we approach a root canal. It is … Continue reading
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis<\/a>
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n