Three valuable words I learned early on in my teaching days were “I don’t know.”
When a Latin student asked me why a certain phrase in the “Aeneid” was in the ablative absolute or a kid in World History wondered why Hindus revered cows, my standard response to such questions for which I hadn’t a clue was always “I don’t know, but I’ll look it up and tell you next time.” Students recognize that bluster and baloney are a camouflage for ignorance, and their reaction is justifiable contempt, but, like the rest of us, they respect honesty.
The COVID pandemic provides a classic example of what happens when leaders are unwilling to express doubt or uncertainty. If asked, for instance, what effects locking down businesses across the country might have on the economy or what damage might be done by closing schools, we know from experience that few of them responded, “I don’t know. We’re in uncharted territory at this point.” Even later, when the dire consequences of these policies became apparent to all, almost none of them confessed to their mistakes and ignorance.
Climate change, another topic of our ongoing national conversation, further illustrates this point. Lots of politicians, teachers, and cultural gurus sound the alarm about climate change, but rarely present valid, unbiased data supporting their concerns. Ask them for real evidence documenting that human beings are responsible for the earth’s rising temperature, and you’ll likely get the response I’ve received several times, “Look it up online. You’ll find all the proof you need.” Economist and political commentator Thomas Sowell likely had such people in mind when he
wrote, “It is usually futile to try to talk facts and analysis to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance.”
The result? As MIT professor emeritus of atmospheric science Richard Lindzen explained in a
recent interview with The Epoch Times’s Jan Jekielek, their arrogance coupled with lack of proof have hammered economies and cultures around the globe without making a dent in CO2 levels.
This phenomenon of vanity concealing ignorance isn’t restricted to the powerful. Many of us are reluctant and ashamed to admit we don’t know something. As university professor Gary Deel writes in “
Humility and the Lost Capacity to Admit Our Ignorance,” we try to cover up our lack of knowledge “to save face and avoid embarrassment.” He next points out the irony embedded in this pretense, that often “the ruse is often paper-thin” and those around us see right through our deception. Humility, he reports, as do so many other commentators addressing this topic, is the antidote to this vanity.
And if we walk this path of humility, admission of our lack of enlightenment can be a major plus for expanding our horizons and our stock of knowledge. In “
Ignorance Is Power: 3 Tips for Learning by Asking Questions,” business professor Brad Staats, author of “
Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself, and Thrive,” tells readers that in the workplace it’s absolutely necessary for the success of any enterprise that we push aside our pride and admit when we don’t know something. That, he says, is the first step in learning, followed by asking questions and then actively listening until we’re certain we understand the issue at hand. By these simple measures, we can “avoid the costly mistakes that often arise when we rush to a conclusion.”
Whether we’re involved in some project at work that has us baffled or we’re sitting with some prince of tech who’s helping us with a computer glitch—I learned years ago to ask these experts to treat me as a digital no-nothing—bringing honesty, humility, and “I don’t understand” to the table is a winning combination for enlightenment.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
