Admitting the ignorance

I often wondered what could be causing stagnation. Usually, I explain it by a lack of motivation, self-confidence and action. That might be correct, but all of this is also coming from somewhere. Of course, we can blame the environment and lack of opportunities, but as is often the case, the real problem might be deeply hidden in our consciousness and our personal view of the world.

Recently, I read a great book about the evolution of the human species. Yuval Harari shows how we, as Homo Sapiens, dominated the planet and how European civilisation ruled a big part of the known universe. The book “Sapiens” presents many exciting theses, but the analysis of why relatively small countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK became global empires I found especially interesting. The author argues that the real revolution began once people realised that their knowledge about the world was incomplete. Once they acknowledged there was a lot to uncover, they started to fill in the gaps. It pushed people to both scientific and geographical discoveries. If we assume we know everything, why bother asking questions? This attitude has blocked nations from growth for centuries, hindered early “scientists” from making discoveries, and, in my opinion, continues to hold back a significant portion of the population from reaching their full potential, leading to numerous unnecessary conflicts between those who believe they “know best”.

Once we admit that we don’t know all, it is both very relieving and inspiring. Suddenly, we don’t have to argue with everybody who has a different view because we might be wrong with our limited knowledge. Even in our areas of expertise, it opens a massive pool of opportunities. Because we don’t know it all and there is always something to learn, there is a reason to search and explore. I find it both fascinating and motivating. If we knew all that could be known, life would become incredibly dull and routine. It is excellent to come closer and closer to complete knowledge, but fortunately, the more we learn, the more we see that there is still to be understood. We get closer and closer to God’s view, but it is impossible to reach. That leaves some space for faith, which is excellent. With all our technology, people of the twenty-first century would put those of the past, who lived just a few hundred years ago, in a different light, seeing them as gods. It will probably also be true with people of the next millennium if transferred to our time, and if humans as we currently know them will still exist in the far future. With all that progress, I firmly believe there will always be a space for the unknown, which, with its mysteries, we call God and will stay out of reach for every generation to come.

In summary, we are blessed that we don’t know all, which makes our lives both exciting and worth living. Therefore, I happily admit my ignorance. If the topic is not exciting, I accept my limited view. Otherwise, I keep looking and asking around.