“I don’t know”! In the vast expanse of the unknown, wonder resides

GUEST COLUMN: Dr N Prabhudev
Bengaluru, March 18: It has happened to me many times! I am asked a question! I should have known the answer… but I don’t know the answer! If I say I don’t know, it sounds unprofessional. Often it’s embarrassing. I am not sure, but I’ll find out and let you know is the best way out! Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s own ignorance! Even when we don’t have all the answers, we’re still part of this grand cosmic conversation.

Am I trying to be Intellectually Honest? At a time when style matters more than substance, intellectual honesty has never been more important. Intellectual dishonesty tears the social fabric of our civilization, allowing our worst human impulses to perpetuate a cycle of violence against each other. Not knowing everything is a humbling truth! Currently the knowledge is about knowing “more and more about less and less”! In this pursuit of depth, we become experts in a particular domain, but it’s essential to balance it with a broader perspective!

I don’t know if God knows everything! No One knows for sure if God exists! There is a default position -I don’t know. The absence of evidence of god’s presence cannot be the only evidence of His absence! It would be better for His reputation if He didn’t. But Yes, Majority believe He exists! Despite our scientific and technological brilliance, our understanding of God is often remarkably undeveloped—even primitive.
“I don’t know”—a once familiar phrase, is now elusive in our conversations. It has almost disappeared from our discourse. The void it left behind is taken by- Certainty, confidence, and the relentless pursuit of answers. We’ve become seekers, armed with algorithms and encyclopaedic databases, search engines, digital oracles, ready to unravel mysteries and quench curiosity. I don’t know has retreated to the shadows.

“I don’t know” morphs into “Let me find out” or “Give me a moment”—a brief pause before unveiling facts, figures, and trivia. As we navigate this sea of data, let’s remember that sometimes, the most profound answers emerge from the quiet spaces between certainty and doubt. In the stillness, we find clarity—not in the noise of absolutes, but in the subtle whispers of possibility.

Illusion of knowledge!
“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge” said Stephen Hawking!
Illusion of knowledge is a fascinating concept. It often leads to intellectual dishonesty and arrogance! It shapes our perceptions, influences our interactions and makes us believe we are what we are not! It’s easy to think you’re a fountain of knowledge. The way out is it requires a willingness to be stumped, “You should be ready to accept your ignorance.
“The Art of Not Knowing” challenges us to confront an essential paradox: how can we know what we don’t know if we don’t know what we don’t know? I don’t know! It is the mystery that propels us forward, the invitation to explore, to question, to push against the edges of our understanding. Embrace the unknown. Let “I don’t know “define your boundaries! Challenge them! For within that uncertainty lies the magic—the spark that ignites our curiosity and propels us toward discovery.
“I don’t know” is a legitimate, acceptable and more importantly— responsible response when you don’t know an answer. You are not an encyclopedia. The Google is!

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