You’re No Good if you don’t Know (!/?)
A strange word; knowing. Both in English and in Dutch (my native tongue) there is no word for the opposite of knowing. We just make due with something like “not-knowing,” immediately identifying it as in inferior to knowledge. It’s a simple fact of the Western world, we highly regard people with knowledge. So you’re constantly hiding the gaps in your knowledge, the things you do not know. Other words for not-knowing that are commonly used are dumb, stupid, ignorant and the list keeps going on. Not one word in the list is a simple flat “not-knowing” without the negative bias. You’re going to get one of those labels as soon as the word gets out that you don’t know. We value knowledge, not the absence of it. It’s of no use to us so there is no word for it. How stupid is that?!
The only thing I know is that I don’t know anything – Socrates
Where does knowledge come from? What is the source of knowledge, did you ever care to think about that one? Where does a painting come from, how did it start? How about this blogpost. Before it came to be, there was nothing there. A blank canvas, an empty screen with no words on it. That is what not-knowing is, total freedom to go in whatever direction you want. Once I start typing a blogpost it’s slowly taking form and the screen is getting filled. With each and every word committed to screen the possibilities become less and less. I’d have a hard time writing about speedreading in this blogpost now wouldn’t I, it would seem out of place. Now if only I had a blank screen.
Ode to the blank canvas
Freedom of thought can only be had with the blank canvas. Once you start adding stuff you’re committed and bound. These bonds are a part of every day life, you even treasure them, boasting with everything you know and keeping quiet about what you don’t. People would most certainly shun you if you confessed about not knowing. It’s a terrible state of mind to be in. Right?
By design, the modern human mind craves knowledge, especially in places where we can find none. When faced with an absence of information, we’ll make up something – we will believe and assume. This tendency appears to be universal – in every culture, some form of belief arises to fill in the lack of absolute “knowledge.” Every subculture with a set of beliefs clamors to have the last word on the subject, claiming themselves the guardians of the Truth. Many of the different factions are willing to go to war over their inventions, but none is willing to confess that they simply don’t know what the truth is.
- Peter Ralston, The book of not knowing, 3:11
Not knowing definitely is a problem in the world these days, but why is that? Why is it that if you already filled your cup you’re applauded but if you offer an empty cup, than you’re looked down upon.
Believing or knowing, empty your cup
I’m going to give you an assignment to do:
- Take a quiet seat somewhere and let anything and everything come to mind. There’s is a lot in your mind so expect a flood of things.
- For all those things, ask yourself if those things are just beliefs or something you actually personally experienced. You’ll quickly discover that a lot of things you “know” are nothing more that beliefs.
Two very simple examples: The North Pole is cold and it’s hard to breathe on the summit Mt. Everest. Have you personally experienced these? No you haven’t, and still you claim to know these two statements to be true. For that matter, did you ever experience the earth not being as flat as was common belief in the Middle Ages?
These two are extremes and you can quickly recognize the belief factor. Accepting these two isn’t to hard, but getting to grips with not-knowing a lot of the things you belief is very frightening indeed. Suddenly the earth on which you built your life starts sliding, it’s not even sliding, it’s simply no longer there. *POOF* It’s hard to build a house on no-ground so the gaping hole is filled with beliefs.
A single exposed belief can cause a cascade effect that shatters your beliefs and your house falls down. Not-knowing is frightening isn’t it? But not-knowing does have one huge benefit over believing: It’s always the same, always true. It’s not going to go anywhere. And it’s your blank canvas! Shattering beliefs leaves you with the possibility to actually start experiencing and knowing. What’s worse, believing or not-knowing?
Admit it, you don’t know a fraction of what you believe you know! Empty your cup and enjoy.
Personally, I think that the word “Ignorant” or “Ignorance” in and by itself has no negative bias. Sure, “dumb” and “stupid” do, but those aren’t actual words for “lack of knowledge”; they’re words that directly refer to the (perceived) intelligence of the subject. Whereas ignorant literally means “lack of knowledge” or “lack of information”. Calling somebody ignorant doesn’t have to be negative at all.
Of course, you’re free to input some snide tone or context to make your point, so that by calling somebody ignorant you’re really saying that he’s intentionally blind to the truth, or something similar, but if you’re judging words ignorant is the most neutral way that I know of to inform somebody that they’re unaware of something.
My point is that I think that the negative bias in the word ignorant comes from the context in which it is used. The negative bias in words like dumb or stupid is inherently there.
Of course, I could be ignorant of some detail or nuance you’re using to define this negative bias. If so, please enlighten me.
Ik rust mijn koffertje ;)
You’re absolutely right Mac, although it’s not only the word, but also how it’s used. “Ignorance is bliss” but at the same time it seems that ignorance is frowned upon. Just the act of lacking information seems a lesser state to having the information. That’s the point I’m trying to make here actually. The words are just a tool:
If you do not know, you’re often seen as inferior to the person who does know. Not only in class but everywhere in life. And so you adopt the practice of keeping your ignorance hidden, while at the same time almost all things you know are actually beliefs and so you build your life on unstable ground. (We all do actually, it’s the human thing to do)
Thanks, I hope this clarifies things a bit more
Oh, I mostly agree with the rest of the sentiment, just not with putting that tag on the word. I’m a nitpicker, as you very well know.
However… I don’t fully agree. You and I are now in a world where not-knowing is, in fact, an accepted state of mind. We’re expected to have a bit of blank canvas on which to work, so that we can actually *create* knowledge, produce new things to know from old things that we know or believe to be true. And during that process, we will come to believe things, which we then test to be true. And if the test fails, we have to go back to the basis for that belief and re-evaluate.
Granted, the academic world is only a small fraction of our lives. But the process you describe in this blog-post is quite similar to academic research: Find something you don’t know, evaluate what you do know / believe, create a new belief based on this and test if it is true.
And in the academic world, not-knowing isn’t frowned upon. It’s the status quo.
When I started meditating, a while back, it was actually extremely difficult to sit with myself. There was just so much crap going in there, that it was physically difficult to sit. Realizing, like you said, that much of what goes on in our heads are just beliefs and not things that we have truly experienced is both frightening and liberating.
I like how you said, “Shattering beliefs leaves you with the possibility to actually start experiencing and knowing.” After meditating for a while, I felt like I was truly experiencing things and not just putting beliefs upon them before even experiencing them. Just walking felt wonderful because I was seeing things as they were, not as the beliefs I had about how they should look and be.
It’s very liberating to meditate indeed, although a total pain when you start out on that path. Sitting still for just a few minutes is pure torture. After a while, you can even enjoy looking at something “simple” as a leaf and wondering why you never saw it before.. :)
I wonder, what type of meditation do you practice?
I totally hear you about being able to enjoy looking at something as “simple” as a leaf. When I tried explaining this to other friends at the time, they thought I lost it!
I’ve mostly been practicing zazen. It’s been the simplest and most challenging for me. What about yourself?
I’ve been practicing the simplest form of meditation too: zazen, I try to meditate every day for 20 minutes. “Just sit” is actually not that easy but then again, it shouldn’t be.
Trying to explain the beauty of a leaf is quite impossible. I’d just hand them the leaf en let them look for themselves. Which reminds me of the very first koan I got: It’s a bit hard to explain in text but let’s try
Take an empty glass and strike it softly
Then the koan with that is “What do you hear?”
Wonderful! I agree, “just sitting” is one of the hardest things I’ve learned how to do.
It sounds like you’ve been practicing zazen for a while, at least long enough to have received a koan. How long have you been practicing for?
I still find counting 1-10 and looking at a stationary object enough of a challenge. I have been curious, however, on what it would be like to get serious enough to be given a koan.
Hi again Ben,
I took my very first “lessons” in Zen in the summer of 2008 if I recall correct. This was a two weekend intensive in which we were instructed in how things work. As an exercise we got our first koan which was solved right there and then. It was more of an exercise in how to think (or is that, how to no-think). As the weekend came to a close I got my second koan which was a serious one that took a while to understand. I’m not working on any koan right now seeing as I don’t follow classes/training. I’m “just” an at-home-sitter although I occasionally do clash thoughts with my teacher.
Counting 1-10 is hard, very very hard. I think I’ve reached 10 only a handful of times. And of course it’s a thrill to reach ten, but that’s a thought so it’s back to one. It’s what stops me from reaching ten most times, being thrilled to almost be there. And so nine is followed by one again. *grin*
Gr, Christiaan
If you want a nice koan here is one:
What is the use of a bucket without a bottom