Bill Bennett
knowledge workers – for people who are paid to think for a living

Celebrating ignorance

with 5 comments

One of the great things about being a journalist is you can admit ignorance.

Well, maybe not ignorance, but it is OK to not know things. You can ask questions without feeling dumb.

In fact people expect it of you and make allowances – although constant questioning may be one reason surveys show journalists are unpopular.

What’s so great about admitting ignorance?

Our society is often intolerant of people not knowing things.

Consequently too many adults are reluctant to admit to knowledge gaps. We often feel the need to disguise our ignorance. And that’s bad.

Needing to disguise ignorance is a particular problem for knowledge workers. Employers hire us for our expertise and insight. They may feel cheated when told: “I don’t know” or “I’ll find out”.

Yet no-one can know everything – even in a narrow subject area.

Admitting you don’t know is liberating. Being able to ask questions is liberating.

Asking people to explain what they mean when they say something strange or incomprehensible is liberating.

On the other hand, pretending to understand when you don’t is stifling. And it’s hard to learn new information when you are busy trying to hide your ignorance.

I make a point of asking questions even when I suspect I know the answer. It’s the best way of learning new knowledge, even if it sometimes makes me sound like an inquisitive child.

And I don’t worry about appearing to be ignorant.

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Written by Bill Bennett

November 13th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged with ignorance, knowledge, learning

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5 Responses to 'Celebrating ignorance'

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  1. You’re quite right. Knowing in itself is also very subjective, as is reality.

    Luigi Cappel

    13 Nov 09 at 3:30 pm

  2. Yup, works for me. I learned this on my first job, in Palmy, as science reporter. Science was never my subject, and Palmy is a very science-oriented city. So I’d say to super-clever professors of science stuff “I’m clever, and I’ve got SC science and 6th form biology, but it’s never been my field. So explain it to me like you’d explain to a clever 15yo.” Worked a treat, every time, and I never once had a complaint that I’d reported something incorrectly.

    Ashley

    13 Nov 09 at 3:42 pm

  3. Yes, admitting ignorance can definitely be seen as a virtue for journalists. But I’m not sure the same thing can be said for editors ;)

    Cheers,

    Renai LeMay
    News Editor
    ZDNet.com.au

    Renai LeMay

    13 Nov 09 at 4:06 pm

  4. [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bill Bennett, Bill Bennett. Bill Bennett said: Just written a short piece on why ignorance is under-rated http://bit.ly/1LTWJg (and why being a journo is good) [...]

    Tweets that mention Celebrating ignorance Bill Bennett’s Knowledge Workers at Bill Bennett -- Topsy.com

    13 Nov 09 at 6:02 pm

  5. Software Developers usually have great confidence in their problem solving ability. But conversely knowing one’s limits, and when to ask for help, is a life skill that developers often lack..

    Knowledge can be quickly attained. Wisdom comes via experience.

    ropata

    13 Nov 09 at 8:54 pm

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