The answer "I dont know"

[Spirit of Light]

Why is it so difficult to say, i dont know when you are in the middle of a discussion?
Does it matter that you can not answer a question? Does it mean when you say, i do not know, that you are less worth then others?

Or is it as simple answer to this that it means you just have more to learn?

Dont be afraid of not knowing

 

[ChristineM]

Why is it so difficult to say, i dont know when you are in the middle of a discussion?
Does it matter that you can not answer a question? Does it mean when you say, i do not know, that you are less worth then others?

Or is it as simple answer to this that it means you just have more to learn?

Dont be afraid of not knowing

I dont know

 

[Revoltingest]

Or is it as simple answer to this that it means you just have more to learn?

I don't know.
Furthermore, there are so many things that I've no desire or need to know.

 

[Spirit of Light]

I don't know.
Furthermore, there are so many things that I've no desire or need to know.

Yes there are many things we do not need to know

 

[Revoltingest]

Yes there are many things we do not need to know

Especially unknowable things.
But to those who must pursue them
anyway, I wish them a productive path.

 

[Sirona]

@Amanaki could it be that you are sort of a culture pessimist? I guess everybody has their pet peeve. Over time, I couldn't help noticing that you've been asking variations of "Why do people communicate [this or that way]?" IMHO, the basic reason for most people is because they have fun communicating.

 

[Spirit of Light]

@Amanaki could it be that you are sort of a culture pessimist? I guess everybody has their pet peeve. Over time, I couldn't help noticing that you've been asking variations of "Why do people communicate [this or that way]?" IMHO, the basic reason for most people is because they have fun communicating.

Well i am pessimist toward human future existance when it comes to wisdom spiritually. I see that more and more people close their eyes toward how our world are getting more and more immoral and negative. That in it self is nothing new, it has happend for a long time already.

But i ask questions that interest me, no matter what other people think of it.
But honestly i do not think i will gain anything from it any more the days since i come back from my one month RF free, i asked my self, is it really worth my time coming back here? And honestly the answer is getting closed to no it is not worth it. So i might disapear again soon.

 

[Polymath257]

How do you combat ignorance and apathy?

I don't know and I don't care.

 

[exchemist]

Why is it so difficult to say, i dont know when you are in the middle of a discussion?
Does it matter that you can not answer a question? Does it mean when you say, i do not know, that you are less worth then others?

Or is it as simple answer to this that it means you just have more to learn?

Dont be afraid of not knowing

I don't think there's any problem, though obviously if you are replying to a thread that is asking a question, you're a bit of a fool to post a response that simply says, "I don't know".

In general, I find people who are knowledgeable in a given area are are not embarrassed to admit the limits to their knowledge.

 

[Quintessence]

I would speculate that reluctance to respond with "I don't know" is imposed onto us through the following cultural factors (I speak based on my experience in the Midwestern USA; perhaps it is different elsewhere):

Teachers Expect Answers
We spend most of our formative years - a decade and a half or so - in a public education setting. In this setting, we are expected to learn and learning is frequently measured by being asked questions and giving answers. If we do not give answers, we do not earn points, we earn a poor grade, and we have failed. It means all of us more or less associate not having an answer to a question with failure.

Failures are Internalized
It's been documented that American culture is distinct from, say, European culture and especially Asian cultures in that personal triumphs and failures are perceived as coming from the individual, rather than from society. When we've been heavily conditioned to perceive not answering a question as a failure, this means we take it personally. If we can't answer something, we personally, are a failure - stupid, ignorant, foolish.

Esteem in the Eyes of Others
To bring this to a conclusion: we're taught that not answering a question means failure, and the failure is personal. If others see us failing to answer, it reflects on us personally and then we become known by others as stupid, ignorant, and foolish too. This can have pretty serious consequences in social interactions. Better to lie, make something up, or appear to know something than be perceived by your peers as an incompetent.

 

[stvdv]

Why is it so difficult to say, i dont know when you are in the middle of a discussion?

I think that this has to do with psychological issues
Many people got criticized when young, and that hurts, especially when done by parents. You get the feeling you are not good enough. The whole school system is based around getting "good grades", then you are good, when getting a "bad grade" you are not good. So, gradually you become a little bit allergic to criticism related to "what you know or don't know", and you don't feel comfortable sharing that you don't know. Easily you get a flashback in your pain experience of the past. I think it is as simple as that.

 

[dybmh]

Why is it so difficult to say, i dont know when you are in the middle of a discussion?
Does it matter that you can not answer a question? Does it mean when you say, i do not know, that you are less worth then others?

Or is it as simple answer to this that it means you just have more to learn?

Dont be afraid of not knowing

OK, this may sound really silly at first... but hear me out?

Maybe it's because posting, "I don't know" as an answer to a thread is not productive. So, odds are, most replies to threads are going to be informative and or topical, and much much less of those replies will be some form of communicating "I don't know".

Therefore, it's just simple probabilities that are governing the behavior you have observed.

Less people answer threads with "I don't know " because it's not productive to do so. And that's why it's much more common to see informative and/or topical replies rather than "I don't know".

 

[exchemist]

OK, this may sound really silly at first... but hear me out?

Maybe it's because posting, "I don't know" as an answer to a thread is not productive. So, odds are, most replies to threads are going to be informative and or topical, and much much less of those replies will be some form of communicating "I don't know".

Therefore, it's just simple probabilities that are governing the behavior you have observed.

Less people answer threads with "I don't know " because it's not productive to do so. And that's why it's much more common to see informative and/or topical replies rather than "I don't know".

That's the point I was making too.

However, quite often in the course of a developing discussion, as opposed to the original OP, a point may come up to which one does not know the answer, in which case it is not problematic to say so.

 

[sun rise]

I know I don't know so I can learn.

 

[BSM1]

Beats me...why?

 

[dybmh]

That's the point I was making too.

However, quite often in the course of a developing discussion, as opposed to the original OP, a point may come up to which one does not know the answer, in which case it is not problematic to say so.

Cool.

Here's what I'm wondering:

Is the specific thread/post that triggered @Amanaki's question? And if so, why didn't @Amanaki address it in that thread while it was occurring?

 

[exchemist]

Cool.

Here's what I'm wondering:

Is the specific thread/post that triggered @Amanaki's question? And if so, why didn't @Amanaki address it in that thread while it was occurring?

That's one for @Amanaki really, but my guess would be it is a general observation, made after experiencing reluctance of a number of people to admit they don't know something.

 

[dybmh]

That's one for @Amanaki really, but my guess would be it is a general observation, made after experiencing reluctance of a number of people to admit they don't know something.

I hope that you're right, but my intuition is still buzzing with curiosity.

 

[PureX]

It's can be a bit of a conversation stopper.

Also, I think we don't need to say it if it is assumed. Like; "I don't know, but maybe it's like this ...". The "I don't know" is already implied by the "maybe", and so does not need to be stated.

 

[Secret Chief]

How do you combat ignorance and apathy?

I don't know and I don't care.

So how do you combat aggression, you *** ****.