Ignorance isn't bliss

At the moment, I am very impressed with how much I don't know.

Often, I am impressed (and sometimes disgusted) by how much others don't know, how much ignorance and false information is abroad.  Certainly this is true in the political realm; I' imagine that the "average" person knows more about their favorite sports team than they do about American government, its values, procedures, and traditions.  We are a better nation of fans than citizens.

So, if you asked in a public opinion poll "are you concerned that President Obama is simply ignoring the requirement of the U.S. Constitution that a balanced budget be submitted to the Congress for enactment each year," quite a lot of people I think would say yes, they are indeed very concerned.  At least a third of the population, I think.

Of course, there is no such requirement.  But any anti-Obama question will poll pretty strongly, because there are lots of people out there who don't know anything except what they hear on Fox News, the anti-governmental propaganda channel, which devotes all of its effort to spreading misinformation and, basically, any hope of some kind of American renewal.

But, I'm not concerned about that at the moment.  Rather, I am concerned with how much I personally don't know, which is substantial.

Here is an example:  if some kind of "flashforward" erased a lot of human progress, I would still be sure that it is possible to construct a 747.  That machines could be made to fly.  I would know that, but I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to go about doing it.

Take something simpler.  I wouldn't know how to reinvent the toaster, either.  Perhaps I would be able to toast bread over an open fire, I think I could do that, but I couldn't recreate the electric toaster with its curly wires that glow red hot.

This kind of ignorance bothers me.  I'm getting old, 67 going on 68, and I have spent most of my life learning stuff.  But, in all fairness, the best I can say is that I have just started to scratch the surface.  Barely.

I do think I know how to make brownies, though, at least from a mix.  Perhaps I should do that, since I can't seem to talk my wife into doing so.  That's one thing I do know, and very probably, there also are others.

I know that Rachel Maddow is the best-informed news commentator on TV.  I know that Apple is now a "bigger" company in financial terms than Microsoft.  And I know that there is an intersection in Santa Fe which Historic Route 66 actually crosses itself!

Comments

[Random Musings]

I think for some of us, senior years give us a perspective on how much we do not know.  Better than the teen years 2 of my grandchildren have reached and they know everything!  But another things I have realized is just how much I do not need to know.  I am still learning and I have a better understanding of just what I need to know!

[DoctorD42]

Random, that is an interesting point about "how much I do not need to know."  Makes me think.  I guess there is a lot of knowledge I could get along with out.

[Random Musings]

The web has provided us with tons of "knowledge" I don't really need.  I was a news junkie but now limit my viewing and read my newspaper, read selected sites on the web and let the rest go.  Much of what is available is also depressing and I don't need that!

[DoctorD42]

Random, yes, much of the news is depressing.  Is it better not to know?

During the Fall of Rome, were there a lot of people who were simply unaware?  How about during the Dark Ages?  How about when Hitler was taking over Germany, and the Jews were being gassed?  

And, if so--since probably there wasn't much they could do--were they better off being unaware?

I'm not sure, but lately I have been very aware that my knowledge is quite incomplete, the Forces of Ignorance, Deceit, and Greed very powerful, and my remaining time in this life probably fairly limited.  How should I spend it?

When one is young, there always is the possibility of hoping that the world will become a better place, and of hoping to contribute to that objective in some way.  What I can do now is so insignificant!  But--my son says that I am being of help to some people who are worse off than I am, through various volunteer activities.  Perhaps that is true.

[Brooke Gasper]

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