I don't know

What is the most common and most truthful answer you can give to most of the questions people ask you?

It’s “I don’t know”

We’ve made a taboo out of not knowing things.

In political debates, in job interviews, in corporate meetings, even in friendly discussions, we perform insane rhetorical and linguistic gymnastics instead of simply saying “I don’t know that”. It can look pretty convincing to people who share the ignorance on the topic, but to people with knowledge it looks insanely embarrassing.

In this video, attendees at the Coachella music festival share their thoughts on made-up music bands. How easy was it to say “I’ve never heard of them”? What they chose to do instead was pretend to be knowledgeable and confidently say nonsense.

If you are laughing at them, here’s a question. Why did they choose to take the risk of being caught red-handed in a lie over simply saying “I don’t know”? This is how strong the ignorance taboo must be.

A person who says “I don’t know” is not going to score a lot of social approval points. They will be branded stupid, weak, incapable, or lacking personality. By contrast, having an opinion – no matter how uneducated – will be considered a positive trait.

Choose your side #

Hiding your ignorance and feigning knowledge is going to give you more recognition and social approval.

Admitting a lack of knowledge – starting with admitting it to yourself – will set you on a much harder path, but that path leads to knowledge and wisdom.

Let’s face it. Any person is only deeply proficient in a very narrow list of subjects. If you have reached a truly deep understanding of one subject, you are already a valued professional. If it’s not one, but two or three subjects, you are a rare talent.

This is why I don’t agree with a popular statement on Reddit that says that having a personality means having strong opinions on every subject. On the contrary, I believe that having and sharing your “strong opinion” on subjects you are ignorant about is an activity ultimately aimed at making other people like you – not a trait of a strong character, but of a weak one. Acknowledging your own ignorance is something you do for yourself, and as such is a true indicator of a strong personality. ■

P.S. Here’s a former president of the United States of America talking about sovereignty.