Ignorance is Bliss

It's okay to not know things.

Saying ‘I don't know’ doesn't reveal ignorance. It reflects confident humility. Insecurity drives us to pretend we have the answers. Confident humility gives us the courage to ask questions. You can't learn if you can't admit you have something to learn.

Adam Grant

What do epidemiologists, politicians, and economists all have in common?

Your friends all talked like one for the past ten months one time or another.

Social media is self expression at scale. Things get ugly when emotions and ego blind our judgement on topics we aren’t versed in.

But not knowing a topic is permission to learn something new.

Your grandparents used encyclopedias and almanacs; it took genuine effort.

All it takes now is typing on a keyboard from your bed — hell we can ask some chick named Siri these days.

And still, there is a step lack of vetting opinion, bias, consensus, and fact.

How do we fix this?

  • Encourage actual research.

  • Study about ideas and people you disagree with.

  • Use the Principle of Inversion: Many hard problems are best solved only when they are addressed backwards. (learn more)

  • Seek dialogue rather than competition.

  • And most importantly: Get the hell off Facebook.

If you want to hear a great conversation about this topic… have no fear Burak is here.

See you Monday.